Dentist keeps trying to get me to complete my Invisalign but teeth not straight yet- need advice

Question

Hello:

Started Invisalign a year ago with the goal of straightening my overcrowded front bottom row of teeth (specifically, my two bottom canines were the most inwardly rotated). My top row of teeth were always completely straight and aligned.

A year later, and my bottom row is straight besides my left bottom canine which has been straightened significantly but still is not completely straight (there is room to move it more).

My biggest issue right now is, my two upper lateral incisors are now crooked from the Invisalign. It’s not extreme, but it’s definitely not straight and very noticeable to me.

We did 1 set of refinement trays to try and correct it, but they didn’t move at all. When I went back in for the check in, my dentist was trying to tell me that I need to set realistic goals and that we probably couldn’t get those two teeth “100%” straight and tries to blame it on the “shape of my teeth.” Which is just not true because my lat. incisors were naturally completely straight, and their shape is the same. But every time I check in with her, I find myself having to advocate harder and harder for us to continue the treatment, and she would rather file my teeth down and ruin their natural integrity than put in the work to preserve the health of my teeth. Also, I had to point out to her that with the current angle of my lat. incisors, the bottom corners would eventually break off because of the way they overlap against my bottom canines. She didn’t even notice, and her oversight and blase attitude towards my teeth makes me increasingly more uncomfortable.

Am I being irrational? I didn’t pay 6k to make my teeth “mostly straight”. I feel like my dentist should be more critical of my teeth than me and she shouldn’t be rushing me out the door every chance she gets. The anxiety I face with each appointment is becoming exhausting to handle. I want to ask for another dentist to take over my case but I feel like I will endure judgement and harassment from the entire dentist office if I do that, but I am stuck with that clinic for the Invisalign since I paid them. Any advice?

Posted Feb 25, 2026, 9:02 PM UTC

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