Metal Mouth Message Board

I just started on aligner#2 and it was so hard to put in. I have been really good about wearing my aligners all day except when eating. The top wasn't too bad but I'm pretty straight on the top, it was the bottom wear I'm a bit more problomatic. It took me abot 20 minutes to finally get that thing on. I know that it's gonna be tight and actually once I got it on it wasn't too bad. Si is that what it's like every time you go into a new aligner - impossible to put in at first?

My ortho has me seeing him every 6 weeks so how am I supposed to know that I really should be wearing this aligner already. I have heard of people on here being told that they should keep their aligners on longer than 2 weeks. i don't know these aligners just feel so different from the last ones. Normal?

I switched to my second recently too and the bottom one was very hard for me to get in. I struggled for quite a while but finally got it in there! It's been a little over a week and while it's still a bit tighter than the first set, it is much better than it was that first day or two.

Hang in there a few days and see if it gets better. If not, you might call yr ortho. Or really, you could call anyway and just ask to be sure,right? My doc told me to switch every 2 weeks unless I tried to put one in and it won't go. She said if that every happend to leave it in for an extra day or two and give her a call.

Best of luck!

I think you are probably okay. After I put in new aligners (right before bed), I chew on aligner chewies to make sure they are seated before the real movement happens. I really think that makes a difference.

I started #4 last week. I had my appointment to get the next 4 the day before I was supposed to switch. He told me to just pop it in. THAT ONE was impossible! Well, really it only took about 3 minutes, but still a lot longer than normal. This one still feels tight and it has been nearly a week. I brought up my concern that my back teeth do not touch and he wasn't the least bit worried. But, went ahead and gave me enough to last 8 weeks instead of 6. I just hope that it gets better by my next appointment in June!

just hope your molars are not tipping like mine did once they have tipped thats it, and then its it until the end then who knows what happens to fix things?

I wouldnt worry too much about the aligners feeling too tight. You may want to double check the numbers to make sure havent skipped one or put in an old one by mistake (I did that once, lucky I noticed it within an hour or so) but honestly I think you'll be fine.

I noticed that in the beginning my tops were nearly impossible to put in and take out for at least the first few days. As my teeth have moved my arch has finally started to take a more normal shape the aligners are much more easier to deal with. Once that pesky snaggle tooth of mine moved to a better place I have noticed a huge difference. They are still tight for the first few days but theres no longer that questions of what's going on here?? why doesnt this feel right???.

Hang in there and you should be fine. Any doubts just give your ortho a call, thats why they are there!

Diehard - How are things going aside from your tipped molars? Are your fronts starting to take shape the way you were hoping?

what does it mean to have tipped molars

things going well on top now although its taken a long time to get there and just incase u wonder what my teeth look like if u look at http://dawnasbracefaceplace.blogspot.com/ then thats pretty close

oh the tipping issue im not sure if its because iv had 4 teeth extracted to make room instead of teeth shaving like most have but if u can imagine the top tooth tipping and the bottom tooth tipping then it looks something like this < in other words the bite is a tad screwed up, and not sure whats in store as the ortho seems reluctant to tell me whats gonna happen at the end to make it right.

Someone help - i'm new here and new to the world of braces. I have also struggled to put in my second set of aligners in - went to see my dentist who helped me but the lower aligners are pushing down so forcefully that the aligner is actually cutting into my lower gums - the dentist filed the lower set down and although my gums still look irriated they are not bleeding like before.

My main concern with the second set is the amount of pressure and pain I feel. I take them out to eat and my whole mouth aches when I open them. My teeth feel so sore. Its actually a pain to eat anything or chew anything. Is this normal?

Please advise as I am getting quite anxious. The first set were really difficult to get used to admittedly, but the pain wore off after 3 days. Having said that, I never experienced the pain and tenderness with the first set that I feel now when I actually take the damn things off and need to eat.

yep its normal I promise it will get easier after a few sets its like anything else it takes time for your body to accept changes, the 1 thing I would do though is if there is something u can do to the trays more comfortable then do it because on my bottom tray there is a problem with the area over the wisdom tooth because its not fully erupted the tray is quite flat and it overhangs the tooth by 1mm or so, which rubs my tongue so I cut it off with nail clipper and I give it a rub with a file which works for me, the main tip I can give you and any other newbies is to put the trays in before you go to bed because (a) new sets drive u nuts and (b) most of the movement is done in 1st number of hours and u will see just how much your teeth have moved in morning.

Thanks for responding diehard - the pain is slightly less now but all I am eating is soup - I can hardly bite down b/c of the pain. What a palava. I just hope I am not doing damage to my teeth or live in a world of permanent pain.

My teeth have shifted already but the aligners have only been put in place to create more space - the actual work of getting them into their desired position will not happen until another 5-6 months. I just hope all the pain is worth it!

You guys are so lovely. Thanks for the advice. I'll try and hang in there - I sucummbed to ibruprofen yesterday. Never have I had to do that for teeth before. Ah, the joy!

My dentist told me that as long as the new aligner fits just above the teeth (no big gap between the aligner and the teeth) that you are ready for the next set.

I just started my 2nd set on Wednesday and it took me a bit to get the bottoms in, too. I have four teeth on the bottom with buttons on both sides. I can't believe the bottom hasn't broken!

Another question - it is normal for your teeth to sometimes make weird clicking sounds - i notice this when I've taken the trays off to eat food....are my teeth getting loose or something. If i touch them I still feel like they might move b/c of the pressure they are under. I hope this is normal as I will end up getting into a frenzy again!

Mine do that.

It shouldn't take that long to put an aligner in. I was the first invisalign case in our orthodontic practice 5 years ago. The Drs. wanted to test the appliances on an employee first. I finished with a great result.

Every once in a while we did have problems with an aligner that needed to be remade. However, this was rare. We usually asked the patient to wear old one longer and problem went away. Give it some more time. If the problem persists, call the office. Better to be safe than sorry. I am sure they will be happy to answer your questions until you get used to the process.

Invisalign recommends two weeks, but some offices recommend longer. It does not change the end result, only the timeline. You have some flexibility with invisalign. Better to err on wearing longer than too short a period of time.

Some patients teeth move faster than others, two weeks is recommended timeline, but not engraved in stone. I personally was able to change every two weeks easily. Some other patients we treated could not. I currently have one friend in invisalign that changes hers once a month. This is her comfort level on moving to next aligner. She understands her treatment will run longer, but has chosen to make sure the teeth have moved to optimimum position of each aligner before proceeding to the next. The Dr. will not argue with her decision, has left it up to her.

If you wear one aligner longer, stick with the matching on the upper. Don't progress to one without the other.

Enamelplasty or polishing between the teeth to create some space may still be indicated on your treatment plan since you just started. This will create some space and help with placement in the future.

Hope this answer helped.