Desperately need help on how to remove the retainers :(

[PaulW]

Hi,

I started two weeks ago on my first tray, and after two days I gave up. It was a combination of having a serious flu/cold, cut mouth corners, not being able to take any candy to help my throat against coughing and cuts on my lips from when the retainers would snap back and my lip would get caught in it.

I talked to a friend and she said her orthodontist gave his patients golf tee's to remove the retainers. My orthodontist said not to use any object.

My problem is that it is next to impossible to remove the retainer on a few of the buttons. The back part comes off easily but halfway to the front the retainers are just stuck. I am trying to use so much force with my nails to lift the retainer over the buttons that my nails have gained an additional 1mm of 'whiteness' from being pulled from the nail bed and that just typing on a keyboard hurts my finger where it meets the nail.

So yesterday I decided to be brave and pick it up again, and it was not any better. Another two cuts on my lips and bleeding, and again intense pain in my nails. I don't think the golf tees worked, or I used it wrong. I feel my teeth have moved, and putting the retainers on is trivially easy, and wearing them is no discomfort at all.

But how do you get the retainer to lift over the attachments? My nails just cannot do this for much longer, and apart from the pain of having the retainer half undone, putting extra pressure on my front teeth for 5-10 minutes, my nails hurting like crazy and the backsnapping constantly drawing blood, i am getting very desperate and thinking of giving up. I hadn't worn my retainers for two hours after I removed them for dinner this evening because I couldn't face removing them in the morning, but then brought myself to put them back in. But I fear the morning

[nan]

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with them. I had a lot of trouble removing mine with the attachments. My ortho gave me some plastic thing to help me remove mine. I'm not sure what it is. One of his assistants said that some people use a guitar pick to remove their retainers.

The good news is that after a couple of days of wearing them, they get easier to remove. Also when you first change retainers, do it at night. Having them in over night as opposed to changing them first thing in the morning seem to help.

I know what you mean about the white part on your nails. I told my ortho office they should give a gift cert for a manicure after the invisalign is over! I had the spot on my middle finger, right hand for the entire time of treatment.

Good luck to you!

eta:

Try using a nail file on any sharp edges. I would often get cuts on my lips and checks. Smoothing the edges with a nail file works really well.

[Janesays]

i strongly recommend you tough it out on the first couple trays.. You'll be glad you did once your teeth fit the mold a bit better things will start to get very easy for you.

[lemon tree]

It took me a few attempts to figure out what worked best for me. In the end it was squeezing my very back left bottom molar until I could get an edge, giving the tray a good tug to get the next sectionoff, and pulling off rest the tray off tooth by tooth from my attachments onward. My top one was easier to pull off but I have to unhook each attachment individually.

The key is to try different ways of taking off your trays until you find one that works for you. best of luck

[LizzyM]

My bottom ones are pretty hard to get off. I mentioned in another thread that you sort of develop your own little knack for removing them.

To take my top ones off, I start on my right side and to take my bottoms off, I start on my left side. With both the uppers and the lowers I start by popping the aligners a little bit off my very back molars. With the bottoms, I push my thumb on the inside of my bottom teeth to push the aligner out a bit on the other side, I then grip it with my index finger and gently ease them off.

[PaulW]

Thanks for the comments so far.

Indeed today was much better. I managed not to cut my lips, and remove the aligners without too much pain twice. I think I am slowly beginning to get a good way that works for me. Unhooking the two inside buttons on my upper teeth seemed very important, and i can now do this by using my left thumbnail on the right inner side and the right thumbnail on the left inner side. Then it is just my two front teeth attachments that are hard but doable with all the other buttons popped loose.

I'm slowly beginning to believe I can do this casually in a week or so.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Hi there,
I find that my technique changes with different aligners. The ones I have at the moment were pretty hard to remove so on the bottoms I start on one molar and work around the mouth in order. The tops I pop off both back molars and work forward so my front teeth are the last to come off.

Glad to hear it is getting easier. Good luck.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

As stated above, it takes a few days for the trays to become easier to remove.

Using the aligner removal tools makes removal easier.

Another tip for our patients is to take the aligners out from the inside at the back. This way the aligners can slip outwards towards the lips away from the attachments.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Another trick is a paper towel, or some kitchen paper- you use it to grip the ones at the back and I find it is then much easier.

I have only had to do this a couple of times, but it seemed to really help.

[hely51]

Hi,

I started two weeks ago on my first tray, and after two days I gave up. It was a combination of having a serious flu/cold, cut mouth corners, not being able to take any candy to help my throat against coughing and cuts on my lips from when the retainers would snap back and my lip would get caught in it.

I talked to a friend and she said her orthodontist gave his patients golf tee's to remove the retainers. My orthodontist said not to use any object.

My problem is that it is next to impossible to remove the retainer on a few of the buttons. The back part comes off easily but halfway to the front the retainers are just stuck. I am trying to use so much force with my nails to lift the retainer over the buttons that my nails have gained an additional 1mm of 'whiteness' from being pulled from the nail bed and that just typing on a keyboard hurts my finger where it meets the nail.

So yesterday I decided to be brave and pick it up again, and it was not any better. Another two cuts on my lips and bleeding, and again intense pain in my nails. I don't think the golf tees worked, or I used it wrong. I feel my teeth have moved, and putting the retainers on is trivially easy, and wearing them is no discomfort at all.

But how do you get the retainer to lift over the attachments? My nails just cannot do this for much longer, and apart from the pain of having the retainer half undone, putting extra pressure on my front teeth for 5-10 minutes, my nails hurting like crazy and the backsnapping constantly drawing blood, i am getting very desperate and thinking of giving up. I hadn't worn my retainers for two hours after I removed them for dinner this evening because I couldn't face removing them in the morning, but then brought myself to put them back in. But I fear the morning

Use a Crochet Hook!

[luvmekids]

Hey, its all got to do with patience and stamina. My theory is what goes on must come off and I find it works really well to pull the back sides off and then "wiggle" the aligner off the front teeth.

Now, my Mum is 63 years old and she is now on aligner (yes it was a mother daughter moment to get straight teeth together!) number 2 with no attachments and she has had a hard time removing them as well but she has stuck at it and Im sure she does not want me to share this with you all but she has found if she wraps a pair of undies over her fingers then this gives her enough grip to take them out!! After she told me and I stopped laughing I figured if it works for her then good for her.....just wondering how she gets them out when she is in public!!