Metal Mouth Message Board

Well, the day finally arrived yesterday and I got my aligners. I spent about 1 1/2 hrs. at the orthos office getting the attachments and instructions on how to take them off and on and how to care for them. The asst. was suppose to give me a dentist pick to take them on and off and I didn't realize it until I got home that she forgot to give it to me. I have no fingernails so I just used tweezers and that worked fine. I put them in at 4:30 p.m. and took 2 tylenol just in case. No pain. I took them out at about 6:00 p.m. to eat supper, brushed, flossed, and put them back in for the rest of the night until breakfast the next morning. The only pain is when I put them back in. There is discomfort on one of my front teeth. That subsides within seconds after their in. I catch myself sucking in on them. I guess that is why your mouth and lips get dry. I have to wear each of them (10 aligners) for 3 weeks so I should be done by Christmas. When my mouth gets a little rank I put a dab of toothpaste in my mouth. I don't know if this is good or not but it refreshes my mouth. My husband didn't even notice I had them in until I told him and he said you couldn't even tell I had them on. I had no lisp after about the first hour. So everthing is going good the first 2 days.

Sounds like you are doing well for a beginner. Some people have a harder time taking them out at the beginning.

I never put toothpaste in my mouth to refresh my mouth. I will drink water which is enough to keep it pretty fresh. I floss and brush well and make sure I clean the aligners well before putting them back in.

I don't know how others take theirs out without a hook. I don't have long fingernails either and even if they were long I think my nails would break trying to pull the aligners off. I use a little white hook that the dentist gave me. I posted a picture in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=23542

Mine don't hurt when I put them in. They hurt the most when a new aligner is only halfway off, then once in comes off, some teeth sting for a few seconds. Then my teeth are just a little sore. The upper hurts way more than the lower. I guess each person is different depending on their teeth and how they are moving. I never needed painkillers. After three days of a new aligner, they don't really hurt much.

Good luck on your journey.