Long term dry mouth and adjusting to bands.

[ShrinkerLD]

Hi I'm new here. I actually just found this board about 30 minutes ago, and I'm very impressed.

I've had invisalign for about 2 months and it has been a difficult adjustment, but I tend to be a slow adjuster to new things, so I'm hanging in there. The biggest adjustment has been dry mouth. My orthodontist says dry mouth is unusual with invisalign and she's claiming my chapped lips are from the winter weather. My mouth has been dry and my lips have been chapped since the day I got these things and it was not cold for the first 6 weeks of wearing them, so I'm blaming the braces. Does anyone else have dry mouth? I drink a lot of water to combat it and I'm keeping the lip balm companies in business all by myself. If you have this problem do have any other solutions? Thanks a lot for any feed back.

As long as I'm asking advice, I just got my first plates with bands today, and I hate them. I barely adjusted to the plates without the bands and now I'm feeling pain from the bands and they're annoying me in general. How long did it take you to get used to the bands? Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with them, other than taking pain relievers? Again, thank you for any feedback on the subject.

[ItsFreyja]

Hi ShrinkerLD, welcome! I don't have Invisalign but I have definitely seen a few people complain here about dry mouth issues with Invisalign. Apart from just drinking a lot of water and using a lot of lip balm, you might want to check out the Biotene line of mouth rinses and sprays. They're marketed specifically for dry mouth; they contain glycerin which is hydroscopic and lubricating.

I don't have elastics yet, either, but the consensus here is that your mouth/jaw muscles adapt to them quickly and it gets much, much better after the first few days. My advice would be to wear them as much as you possibly can so that you get this adjustment period over with as soon as you can. Hang in there and good luck!

[lilyflower]

Hi I'm new here. I actually just found this board about 30 minutes ago, and I'm very impressed.

I've had invisalign for about 2 months and it has been a difficult adjustment, but I tend to be a slow adjuster to new things, so I'm hanging in there. The biggest adjustment has been dry mouth. My orthodontist says dry mouth is unusual with invisalign and she's claiming my chapped lips are from the winter weather. My mouth has been dry and my lips have been chapped since the day I got these things and it was not cold for the first 6 weeks of wearing them, so I'm blaming the braces. Does anyone else have dry mouth? I drink a lot of water to combat it and I'm keeping the lip balm companies in business all by myself. If you have this problem do have any other solutions? Thanks a lot for any feed back.

As long as I'm asking advice, I just got my first plates with bands today, and I hate them. I barely adjusted to the plates without the bands and now I'm feeling pain from the bands and they're annoying me in general. How long did it take you to get used to the bands? Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with them, other than taking pain relievers? Again, thank you for any feedback on the subject.

In addition to biotene, you can suck on any kind of mint that's sugar free to help get the saliva going. Use some kind of lip balm on the dry lips (if you're female and want color Clinique's chubby sticks work well and don't go all over the plastic) I don't have bands as part of my plan but I suggest OTC painkillers until you adjust to them.

[ShrinkerLD]

Thank you, both for your answers.