Wanting to cry!

[jen]

I have had my invisalign on for 4 hours and I hate them! I had to have 12 attachments, two of which you can see when I smile! I feel like I can't put my teeth together, my lips look puffy, and I am wondering what I have done!

I hate taking them out so I probably won't be eating for a couple of weeks! I feel like I talk funny! Help!!! I have already called my ortho to see about having them taken out! Please say something that will make me feel better!

[Janesays]

Hang in there Jen! I felt the same way.. (now I am going through my last bottoms).

The first few weeks my teeth were sore and I hated them, but it gets soo much easier that you live to move on to the next aligner.

I promise!

[Nikki]

She is absolutely right. The first set is always the worst and I hated mine in the beginning. Still not crazy about them but most people dont even notice even with the attachments. After a couple of days everything will be fine. Taking them out is a hassle at first, but once your teeth adjust, they come out with no problem. I have become more self conscious about my breath than anything.

[Weeeyin]

Honestly Jen it does get much easier and you might even forget they're there soon. Dont give up yet, you've paid a lot of money for this. You prob think you can see the trays / attachments on your teeth but its defo less visible than other braces to other people. My opinion now is if anyone comments they're just jealous that i'm going to have beautiful teeth and more confidence about my smile soon.....more than them!!! My first trays felt too sore and weird to bite down and close my teeth together but now on trays 5 i can bite down, clench them together and forgotten they were on a couple of times and munched into food before excusing myself to take them out. hang in there...., my motto - no pain no gain.

[havingitdoneintheuk]

Yep, ditto all of the above. I had a moment right at the start when I wondered what the hell I had done, but you just get so used to them, it becomes part of life.

Every 2 weeks I find myself looking forward to changing them as I know it means my teeth will be moving just that little bit more!

I've got 10 attachments, all on the visible front teeth which I was gutted about. However, I've had mine since last July and only 3 people have noticed and asked me about them, which is a hell of a lot less than if I was in traditional 'train tracks'.

Like Weeyin says, just think of those beautiful straight teeth at the end of it all

[myhollywoodsmile]

Hi there,
The first few days are awful, after that it really isn't so bad. If you already have your attachments then it is no wonder they feel so tight. I had 4 weeks without attachments first.
My first day I seriously thought I would never be able to keep them up, but now sometimes I have to put my fingers on my teeth to see if they are in or not.

Stick with it. Really. If you still feel the same after a few weeks that is different, but please don't judge by the first couple of days.

[LizzyM]

Hi there!

Like others have said, the first one is the worst by far. I am only on 9/38 U and 9/22 L but I am used to them. I really don't think that you ever forget that you are wearing them.

I find that they get a little annoying towards the end of the two weeks when you are about to change into your next set. I seem to play with them by flicking them with my tongue as they are quite loose by that stage.

I have 8 attachments with one of those on my front tooth. I was so aware of it to begin with as I could feel it, now I hardly notice the attachments.

I must say that this tray has been the worst for me since my first one. I seem to have played with it from the moment I put it in. I can't wait to change to tray 10.

Hang in there, you will be fine.

[luvmekids]

I agree to all of the above. For the first two days I kept getting a horrible claustrophobic feeling everytime I thought about having to have them on for the next 18 months but now I have to run my tongue over my teeth to make sure I have them in! I even ate a chip the other night with them in and didnt even notice until a couple of chews!
And yes myhollywoodsmile I too feel like something is missing when I have them out. Im so use to them in its actually strange to have normal teeth!

[abercrombie_boi]

I am totally in your shoes now!!

I just got my Invisalign placed a couple hours ago and I am
in IMMENSE pain.
Friday (3 days ago) i had to have 4 teeth removed
and the empty sockets are still very very very tender
and sore and painful in general. Shoving on those aligners
hurt terribly and I almost asked them to take the Invisalign off!

The orthodontist made me practice taking the trays on and off
TWICE and i started crying in the office!! I am 20 years old and
I just started bawling because my teeth hurt so bad
along with the spots that are now empty.

I dunno why I am doing this and I am looking for encouragement!

I am certainly not taking out these aligners so I am not eating today or tomorrow
probably! ...I still have 500 mg Loritab from my teeth extractions
and I just popped two of those and will hopefully sleep
the rest of the day!

But, for now...my teeth are screaming!! (...and I am questioning my
entire treatment). Plz help??

[lemon tree]

oh - I'm really sorry to hear. I'd say, let the drugs be your friends. You may want to consider drinking meal replacement shakes for a couple of days until you are ready to go back to solid foods again too. I'm sure it will feel better once you get used to the aligners and the extraction sites heal. All the best.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Oh, you poor thing abercrombie. I didn't know that you could start invisalign so soon after extractions.
Hopefully in a couple of days when your aligners loosen up you will feel much better. Have you got some strong painkillers?

[SkyIsTheLimit]

I am totally in your shoes now!!

I just got my Invisalign placed a couple hours ago and I am
in IMMENSE pain.
Friday (3 days ago) i had to have 4 teeth removed
and the empty sockets are still very very very tender
and sore and painful in general. Shoving on those aligners
hurt terribly and I almost asked them to take the Invisalign off!

The orthodontist made me practice taking the trays on and off
TWICE and i started crying in the office!! I am 20 years old and
I just started bawling because my teeth hurt so bad
along with the spots that are now empty.

I dunno why I am doing this and I am looking for encouragement!

I am certainly not taking out these aligners so I am not eating today or tomorrow
probably! ...I still have 500 mg Loritab from my teeth extractions
and I just popped two of those and will hopefully sleep
the rest of the day!

But, for now...my teeth are screaming!! (...and I am questioning my
entire treatment). Plz help??

Why did you have teeth removed?

[lemon tree]

I am totally in your shoes now!!

I just got my Invisalign placed a couple hours ago and I am
in IMMENSE pain.
Friday (3 days ago) i had to have 4 teeth removed
and the empty sockets are still very very very tender
and sore and painful in general. Shoving on those aligners
hurt terribly and I almost asked them to take the Invisalign off!

The orthodontist made me practice taking the trays on and off
TWICE and i started crying in the office!! I am 20 years old and
I just started bawling because my teeth hurt so bad
along with the spots that are now empty.

I dunno why I am doing this and I am looking for encouragement!

I am certainly not taking out these aligners so I am not eating today or tomorrow
probably! ...I still have 500 mg Loritab from my teeth extractions
and I just popped two of those and will hopefully sleep
the rest of the day!

But, for now...my teeth are screaming!! (...and I am questioning my
entire treatment). Plz help??

I was just thinking - is there any possibility of you leaving some more time for the extraction sites to heal before starting the invisalign?

[Zoso]

I agree. I'd ask if I were you whether you can wait a week or so for the extraction sites to heal a bit more before starting. Your ortho may have a reason for not wanting to delay, but if he does not, it might make your life less uncomfy.

[abercrombie_boi]

I had to get teeth removed
because both my top and lower
teeth are very crowded and they strongly
suggested extractions for maximal and clean-
cut results.
I just took them out to clean them and wow
what a terrible terrible feeling. But I have to admit
that they were easier to take out than when I was in the
Dr's office. So at least that is an improvement and I try
to look at the positive aspects of all this (it's hard to find them but just look!)

Invisalign will certainly pay off and we will all reap what we
sow!! I just feel like pain is all going into the results. Perhaps
the more pain the more gain
I am going to be out of Loritab soon, but I will be getting
Max Strength Fast Acting IbProfen or something
because I will need a helper to get through this.

How are all of you doing??
Hopefully well on your Invisalign "journey".
It's just a bumpy ride for me so far...

[abercrombie_boi]

PS what do you all do about if your tongue is scraping the edge of the inside of your bottom tray?

[mommamorin]

hi abercrombie,
use a nail file and file down the rough spot on your aligner. I have problems with the exact spot and on every new set of aligners I have to file. just get a good grip on the aligner when you file (I cup it in my palm) so not to bend and crack.
good luck!

[myhollywoodsmile]

HI there,
I had a painful bit on every aligner and mentioned it to my ortho. He filed every aligner for me, so that they are all smooth now. I'm not sure what he used but it only took him 5-10 minutes to do them all.

[abercrombie_boi]

thnx I will def. do that, because the rough edge gets annoying!

So what pain relievers are u guys using?
I ran out of Loritab and I need something that will
ease the pain of removing and replacing my aligners.

Still very very sore from the extractions

[Zoso]

IN general, you should not need to be using prescription pain relief. However, I definitely get it that you are in more pain than is the norm with Invisalign due to the extractions. Still, you should try not to rely on the prescription stuff for this - try backing off to normal doses of a regular over the counter pain reliever, but take then maybe a half hour before you need to mess with the trays, so that the pain relief should be in full effect right when it is needed. Once your mouth has settled down from teh extractions, it really should not be necessary to take any sort of pain relief on a regular basis as part of this treatment.

[Punkin]

I am totally in your shoes now!!

I just got my Invisalign placed a couple hours ago and I am
in IMMENSE pain.
Friday (3 days ago) i had to have 4 teeth removed
and the empty sockets are still very very very tender
and sore and painful in general. Shoving on those aligners
hurt terribly and I almost asked them to take the Invisalign off!

The orthodontist made me practice taking the trays on and off
TWICE and i started crying in the office!! I am 20 years old and
I just started bawling because my teeth hurt so bad
along with the spots that are now empty.

I dunno why I am doing this and I am looking for encouragement!

I am certainly not taking out these aligners so I am not eating today or tomorrow
probably! ...I still have 500 mg Loritab from my teeth extractions
and I just popped two of those and will hopefully sleep
the rest of the day!

But, for now...my teeth are screaming!! (...and I am questioning my
entire treatment). Plz help??

My ortho made me wait 10 days after I had my teeth extracted. I would take them out and tell the ortho you want to wait until your mouth has healed.

[mikeg]

whats the latest update Jen? Things going better?

[myhollywoodsmile]

How are you now? I had a couple of panadol with my first trays, but nothing since.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Couple of tips:

For some reason, a lot of orthodontists still advise using whatever pain medication you usually use, which is typically Ibuprofen (Advil). Not all pain meds work the same. We recommend our patients use Acetaminophen only (Tylenol) for discomfort associated with orthodontic tooth movement. Without going into too much detail, the mechanism by which teeth move requires a localized inflammation around the root of the tooth. This is healthy if forces are not too strong. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory, something that you usually want for most pain meds, but it will actually slow the movement of teeth...

As for the extractions, it is critical to time them with the insertion of your aligners since the teeth remaining after extractions will begin to drift. If they drift enough, your aligners will no longer fit. We refer our patients to their dentist to have teeth removed a couple of days before insertion of Invisalign. Having a fresh extraction site is also good for tooth movement, as there are a lot of the bone factors around. Truthfully, if your dentist/oral surgeon is proficient at removing teeth, a sound, healthy tooth should not cause much trauma at all to the surrounding areas. For a surgical extraction, that would be different, but if that were the case, you probably are not wearing Invisalign.

Hope tihs helps!

[Zoso]

You know, it's an interesting thing about pain killers. I certainly understand the notion that orthodontic movement of teeth relies on a local inflammatory response, that prostaglandins play an important role as mediators of this inflammatory response, and that because NSAIDS inhibit prostaglandin synthesis it should, on the surface, be expected that the use of NSAIDS would slow movement. Trouble is though studies have been published which indicate that NSAIDS do delay treatment for this reason, others have been published that indicate that they do not. At the same time, I have read that some studies have indicated that ibuprofen provides more effective relief for orthodontic pain than do than aspirin, codeine or a combination of the two, and that in other studies, aspirin and acetaminophen have performed similarly.

My ortho gave me no specific instructions either way. But the way I reasoned it was this: even if the studies are correct that indicate the use of ibuprofen will slow tooth movement, I would be using the pain reliever only for a small percentage of the total time I was in braces (I'm going to guess at under 10% of teh time, even had I needed it after every adjustment - which in the event I certainly did not -and even adding in a good chunk of time I might use it to address pain from other sources). So I figured the total impact to treatment time should not be appreciable. On that basis, if the studies are correct that indicate it is the more effective pain reliever, then I was willing to take a chance on that minimal sacrifice in terms of treatment time.

Edited to add: haven't the studies to date on whether or not NSAIDS inhibit tooth movement all been in animal models?

[Punkin]

Couple of tips:

For some reason, a lot of orthodontists still advise using whatever pain medication you usually use, which is typically Ibuprofen (Advil). Not all pain meds work the same. We recommend our patients use Acetaminophen only (Tylenol) for discomfort associated with orthodontic tooth movement. Without going into too much detail, the mechanism by which teeth move requires a localized inflammation around the root of the tooth. This is healthy if forces are not too strong. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory, something that you usually want for most pain meds, but it will actually slow the movement of teeth...

As for the extractions, it is critical to time them with the insertion of your aligners since the teeth remaining after extractions will begin to drift. If they drift enough, your aligners will no longer fit. We refer our patients to their dentist to have teeth removed a couple of days before insertion of Invisalign. Having a fresh extraction site is also good for tooth movement, as there are a lot of the bone factors around. Truthfully, if your dentist/oral surgeon is proficient at removing teeth, a sound, healthy tooth should not cause much trauma at all to the surrounding areas. For a surgical extraction, that would be different, but if that were the case, you probably are not wearing Invisalign.

Hope tihs helps!

I know I had four teeth (well, five actually) surgically extracted. My ortho said ten days, to allow for healing and the stitches to fall out. I was concerned that wouldn't be enough, but it was fine.

I wouldn't have wanted to go any sooner that's for sure.

[girl on the bus]

think off ALL that money you're investing in it to get nice straight teeth.. that should be enough motivation. beauty comes with some consequence .
don't give up, take some tylenol or something, first 3 days i had headaches, now they're gone.