Really uncomfortable

[smilingproud]

I'm on Day two of my first aligners, and I'm feeling awful

My teeth are ACHING and in pain... even just to touch them with the tip of my finger hurts. I have long cuts down each side of my cheek (I think I'm somehow chewing it in the middle of the night?). Sores on my lower inside lips too. I've tried ibuprophen and it helps a bit, but I realistically can't keep popping pills all day every day for the next two years.

Also, I just don't know how this is supposed to fit into my lifestyle. I feel like it doesn't at all Every second all I can think about is this plastic blob covering my teeth. It feels like they can't breathe. And I feel like I can't do ANYTHING any more... drinking coffee, eating apples, eating when I want to, sharing a bottle of wine with friends, even camping. I can't believe I signed up for this for 20 months.

On top of all this, I have trouble sleeping regularly, and now that my teeth, mouth, and gums are in pain, it's keeping me up at night.

I'm thinking I made a terrible choice, and I'm thinking of calling it quits. Any advice out there?

[hazybubbles]

Well if you want your teeth fixed stick at it, if you don't then quit, its pretty simple. Sorry to be blunt. Whatever type of brace you have it will be, at times, inconvenient, uncomfortable or painful. At least invisalign is the least noticable!

[DrJasonKTam]

You're not alone. The first couple of days are the worst. You will get used to the treatment like everyone else and eventually get the point where you feel better with the trays in than out. Good luck!

[smilingproud]

No... I appreciate your bluntness. I guess I'm just feeling a bit dejected... and worried if I already feel like calling it quits, what will I feel like in two months/6 months/a year. I'd love to have my teeth straightened, but I'm not sure the cost, commitment, and pain is worth it, now that I know what it all entails.

Also, I feel the only reason people feel more comfortable with their invisalign on after a while is because their teeth look so silly bare with all those attachments! Definitely not looking forward to that I almost feel like regular braces are more worth it, because invisalign IS noticeable and uncommon... so people have no idea what's going on with your "weird-looking" teeth. At least with regular braces, society is super used to them, and doesn't question it.

I'm giving this a full week... the pain has subsided a tiny bit today, but knowing what's around this 20 month corner is looking incredibly daunting.

[Stephskare]

Hi there. I'm sorry to hear about your painful situation. I'm on my 8th tray now and I'm sure you've heard this but it will get better. When I first got them I had anxiety about the fact that I was locked into something for 2 years. They were painful and gave me bad canker sores. Not to mention the fact that I thought they were bulky on my teeth and super noticeable. I remember laying in bed at night getting claustrophobia about something being on my teeth 22/7. Buuuuut after my second tray everything got a lot better. I'm not saying it will be sunshine and rainbows all the time but the pain does get a lot better. My mouth got use to the plastic so the canker sores stopped. Even though I felt like my trays were big and bulky my clients were shocked to hear I was wearing them because they didn't notice. So I figured that was all in my head. With being a hair stylist as well I only have time between clients to eat or snack which could be 5 min or 1 hour. I didn't eat much for the first week because I didnt want the hassle of taking them out, eating, brushing my teeth, brushing the trays, then putting them in. But you get use to it and soon it won't seem like such a hassle. You'll realize you change your life style a bit in order to have a life with great teeth. Now having both traditional braces and invisalign I can tell you both will cause discomfort. Both with cause pain and achiness. Both will be somewhat noticeable (although regular braces are a lot more) and both will affect your life style but it will get easier. Just give it a little more time (:

[smilingproud]

Thanks Stephskare! I definitely agree... I had an extreme clausterphobic moment the other night with them in! Just wanted to rip them right out... and had a bit of anxiety around it too. Seems silly! But I guess it does happen.

I'm happy to report it's day 4 now, and I am feeling better about this whole process. They are feeling more "normal" in my mouth. I also showed them to a close friend... and she was super impressed with how invisible they are! She couldn't even tell I was wearing them, and thought I should continue with it. She had regular braces for three years as a child/teenager and she said they were awful, and that she was in a lot of pain, and that these look great in comparison. So I'm excited about that.

I still can't believe how long this is going to take considering that really, my teeth aren't that bad (I really only have four bottom teeth that are moderately crooked, my top arch is fine as far as I am concerned). But my ortho is really nice. He said that a lot of dentists will say time is a lot shorter to patients and then those patients will require refinements. He likes to factor in refinements up front, so that finishing early is a bonus, rather than adding more time on.

Still worried about attachments and all that. But I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I've decided I'm just going to tell people about my treatment, rather than hide it (although, I think I'll keep quiet about it at work).

Anyways, thank you all for listening And there may be a second round of panic when the attachments come on!

[Greenman]

How many attachments are you getting?