What Happens After Your Last Invisalign Tray? 5 Things You Need To Know

In this post, we’ll cover what happens at the end of your Invisalign treatment, after your last tray, so you know exactly what to expect.

Hi there guys and girls!

So, you’ve got your aligners on and are now curious to skip to the end and see what happens? 😉

Or maybe you are still considering getting Invisalign and are doing some research to learn from other people’s experiences. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been wearing my Invisalign aligners since the end of July 2020 so I’ve got lots to tell you.

You can learn everything there is to know about the whole Invisalign process, from costs, procedures, pain, and progress in this post.

In case you are dealing with attachments that are falling and other things to expect in the beginning, I’ve got you covered as well.

But for now, let’s get right into the topic of today’s post:

What happens after the last Invisalign tray?

Will your teeth be perfect, no more pain, and finally no more trays to change every 2 weeks? Is it really over after your last Invisalign tray?

Well, the answer is maybe… but likely NO. (Sorry to burst your bubble). Of course, it depends on a case by case.

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones and once you reached the “estimated” end of your Invisalign treatment everything is perfect and that’s that.

In my case, things are a little bit different, so this is why I decided to write this post, to keep you guys updated on what the journey of wearing Invisalign is all about. Because just like me, I suspect there are plenty of people in a similar situation.

Here are the top 5 things you can expect after wearing your last tray, at the end of your Invisalign treatment:

5 Things to expect at the end of your treatment (after your last Invisalign tray)

1. It might actually not be the last tray 😉

Probably one of the most unexpected things that happened to me was this: the estimated end time isn’t really the end of your treatment. It’s likely that it will take longer, depending on how your teeth “behave”.

If your teeth need more time to get adjusted to their new, optimal position you will receive refinements from Invisalign. This is a fancy word for basically MORE trays.

In the past year and a half, I’ve gone through about 2 or 3 rounds of refinements, each time receiving 6 new trays to change every week.

2. You will need to wear a nighttime retainer

As teeth tend to slightly move in time (which I am sure you’ve already felt if you already have Invisalign), they need to be kept in place. All so that your new beautiful and perfect new smile will actually stay like that.

This is why you will have to wear a retainer during the night to wear for 6 months, to a year, or maybe longer. This will be provided by your orthodontist at the end of your Invisalign treatment.

Don’t be scared, it’s nothing strange or unattractive. It’s very similar to your Invisalign tray, clear, transparent, and made of a slightly thicker material.

3. Your teeth gap might not stay closed

This one is for all of you who used Invisalign to close a gap between your teeth. Sorry to break it to you, my friends, but your gap might not actually STAY closed.

At least this is what happened in my case. My gap was closed around months 8-9 and we have spent the past several months ever since trying to keep it closed.

There are multiple ways to do that, either by wearing a retainer for a longer period of time (during the day too), placing a wire on the backside of your teeth to hold them together, or using your old Invisalign tray.

For this reason, it’s always good to keep your last Invisalign tray as you might need it again.

In case you’re curious, here is my journey of closing my front teeth gap with Invisalign and the incredible RESULT after 9 months!

4. You will likely wear a wire for the rest of your life

Another thing that happens after your last Invisalign tray is a wire placement.

At the end of your Invisalign treatment, sometimes you might be required to have a wire placed. The purpose of the wire is to ensure that your teeth stay in the optimal position.

This is a very common procedure, regardless if you wear aligners or regular braces.

Of course, it’s not always possible to get this wire. For example, in case your bite is in such a way that your teeth touch directly on it.

If this happens, you will get additional (blue) applications on your molars. Their goal is to will raise your bite, and create some space where you no longer touch the wire.

This is a great solution, as you won’t have to wear any aligners anymore (yay!) but it takes a bit of getting used to. Especially when eating. You will feel like you are eating only on 2 molars haha. But as uncomfortable as it might be in the beginning, you will get used to it in a few days.

Just like the Invisalign attachments, these blue applications that raise your molars might occasionally fall off. Not to worry, it is pretty normal. They are not made from a super-strong material, so just make a short appointment to have them replaced.

You can also try and keep just one application if the other fell off. Watch out not to bite your tongue though. 😉

5. Save your last Invisalign trays, you might wear them longer

What sometimes happens after your last Invisalign tray is that you will have to continue wearing it.

This can be either until your retainers are ready until you receive your refinements or just to keep your teeth in the right place.

It is possible that it will get slightly colored in time or a bit scratched, but if you clean it properly, it will be fine.

While I had a wire on my top teeth for several months, I was still using the last Invisalign tray for my lower teeth.

(for some funny yet useful Invisalign tips, have a look here).

Is Invisalign (still) worth it?

So, having been through all this, almost 2 years into my Invisalign treatment (and still not finished) would I say that Invisalign is worth it? HELL YES!!

I cannot recommend it enough and I am amazed every time I look at myself in the mirror! Yes, there is still some work to be done and it’s a lengthy process but boy, is it 100% worth it!

The results speak for themselves and I am committed to doing whatever it takes to keep my new beautiful smile! So bring on the extra trays, refinements, and wires! 🙂