Hello, sjshdfj96. If possible, wear your retainers. The retainers may fit tight and cause some soreness to your teeth and gums, similar to when you first had your braces. Wear your retainers as much as possible. The only time you should remove your retainers is to eat, drink, brush your teeth, or while playing contact sports. This may help close the gap. If doesn't help or if you cannot get your retainer back in, make an appointment to see your orthodontist.
I would try wearing the retainer 24 hours a day. If that doesn't work, return to your orthodontist and ask what they would suggest. Also, I advise my patients to wear their retainers 24 hours a day after they have completed their Invisalign treatment. The teeth are prone to moving back to their previous positions if you don't wear your retainers. Only after the first year of retainer wear do I recommend night time wear only.
Hello, MaryDublin. It may just take some time to get used to the feeling. If after a few days or a week, it doesn't feel better, I would suggest contacting your orthodontist and scheduling an appointment to go in and have it checked. Another thing, are you wearing you Invisalign all the time? If you aren't then I suggest wearing them as much as possible. The only times you the aligners should be out of your mouth is when you are, eating, drinking anything but water, and brushing/flossing your teeth. If you have your aligners in, you shouldn't feel any roughness from the attachments.
Hello, Valenciawright. You can wear the last aligner as a retainer. Over time though, it should be replaced. I think now is a good time for you to replace it. Costs of retainers can vary from orthodontist to orthodontist and location to location. A lot of factors go in to pricing such as cost of materials. In our office it is $250 for an essix retainer. As a reference point, we are located in southern California. Vivera retainers from Invisalign may be a good option for you. In our office the cost of Vivera is $375 for one arch. This means the top teeth only or the bottom teeth only. For $375 you get 4 retainers total which is nice as you'll have back-ups in case you lose or break your retainer. Even if you don't lose or break one, you can switch to a new fresh and clean retainer after a few years.
Hi, Agurl1. I don't recommend drinking anything but water with you Invisalign aligners in. Drinks such as smoothies can have a lot of sugar. The smoothie can get inside you aligners and get trapped in there. As such, the sugar would just be sitting on your teeth for an extended period of time which could leave to cavities. Best practice would be to remove your aligners before drinking. To take it a step further, rinse out your mouth with water or even drink some water before placing your aligners back in. Good look with your Invisalign treatment!
