POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
Can't Sleep with Invisalign and It's Been Six Weeks! - Boston, MA
ORIGINAL POST
I can't sleep with Invisalign!! I have been in my...
Stef1358September 11, 2015
$7,000
I can't sleep with Invisalign!! I have been in my Invisalign for six weeks and have slept about 3 hours maybe 4 every night. I even have nightmares about my dentist and my teeth! I'll doze off but the moment my teeth touch and I feel the plastic in my mouth I wake up. For some bizarre reason I am reacting negatively to the device being in my mouth at night. My mouth is rejecting it as a foreign object that doesn't belong there. I feel like a zombie during the day and my thinking is cloudy. I was in the middle of an important project when I began treatment but because i'm so tired now I find it hard to concentrate making the project almost impossible to complete. The quality of my work is suffering, so I put it off project due to my exhaustion. I invested a lot of money but if it comes down to sleep or money I am going to have to chose my sleep and unfortunately stop treatment. I'd rather cut my losses at this point instead of continuing on. It's not a good situation all around. I can't really put off my work or sleep too much longer leading to more very real and potential consequences. I can't imagine continuing treatment for the next 6 months only to need to wear retainers for life and not being able to so. It would be even a greater loss to continue on under those circumstances. At first the idea seemed appealing having invisible braces that I can remove. I was told they were "comfortable" and I would be in treatment less time than with traditional orthodontics. I work with clients all day long and I figured this would be a better option, Aestheically... It turned out to be the worst choice for my needs and lifestyle. I already have somewhat of a sleeping issue to begin with. What I did learn is that good reviews and popularity do not matter all that much. I realized all good and bad choices come from how well you know yourself. If I acknowledged my limitations from the beginning and worked around them I would have been able to make the best out of what was possible for me and I might have made a better choice. I might have opted for braces or vaneers. For someone else, maybe Invisalign is the right choice. For others, maybe it's braces or just vaneers. It wasn't a total loss in that I am happy with the way my teeth look even now. They are straighter and more aligned. If I stop mid-treatment it's not a total loss and I can commit to wearing my retainers at least everyday not at night. Know thyself....and forget everything else.
Replies (8)
September 14, 2015
YOUR REPLIES ARE SPOT ON. JUST BECAUSE A "DOCTOR" HAS A TITLE, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER THEIR NAME, IS THAT REASON TO PLACE YOUR TRUST IN HIM.? INVISALIGN PRESENTS A WAY FOR YOU TO LOCATE AN ORTHODONTIST-THE PATIENT"S ZIP CODE. INITIALLY, THIS TELLS YOU ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THEIR COMPETENCE, OR LACK THEREOF. HOWEVER, THEY THEN GO ON TO GIVE YOU A RATING OF PROVIDERS, FROM A LOW EXPERIENE OF THE PROVIFER, TO THE PREMIERE AND ,ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP,PREMIERE ELITE( LIKE MYSELF), IN EVERY TRADE AND PROFESSION, IT IS EXIGENT TO BE AWARE THAT, 50% OF ALL OF THEM, GRADUATED IN THE BOTTOM 1/2 OF THEIR GRADUATING CLASS. THE PEARL OF WISDOM TO BE TAKEN FROM THIS SOBERING FACT IS THAT EACH AND RVERY CONSUMER, OF BOTH GOODS AND SERVICES, MUST DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE, AND THEN MAKE AN EDUCATED CHOICE. THE OLD ADAGE "CAVEAT EMPTOR"- LET THE BUYER BEWARE- IS AS MODERN TODAY ASTH DAY THAT IT WAS WRITTEN MILLENIUMS AGO
September 15, 2015
My nephew only wears them at night... Doesn't want to wear them while he's in school.. Dentist says treatment will take double,the time, but it will still work. Just wear them during the day so that you can get some sleep!!!!
March 18, 2017
Finally I found someone with my same condition! I have been googling this for few days and nobody is talking about sleep problems!
I have my second tray now for 15 days and u can't have a full night sleep! I only sleep 3-4 hrs of deep sleep and then my eyes open in the middle of the night! Then all day I'm sleepy. I notice when my eyes open that my tongue and throat are (sore, or dry) I tried salt water, aloe, OTC meds, and I'm gonna take off the upper tray today and try to sleep. I have overcrowded teeth in the bottom jaw not upper. I'm gonna see my Ortho who is too 1% of Invisalign site next week, u Donno what he can do,. If there is no way I'll live like that for the next year and a half!
Thank you for sharing, did you find a solution or did you just stop treatment?
I have my second tray now for 15 days and u can't have a full night sleep! I only sleep 3-4 hrs of deep sleep and then my eyes open in the middle of the night! Then all day I'm sleepy. I notice when my eyes open that my tongue and throat are (sore, or dry) I tried salt water, aloe, OTC meds, and I'm gonna take off the upper tray today and try to sleep. I have overcrowded teeth in the bottom jaw not upper. I'm gonna see my Ortho who is too 1% of Invisalign site next week, u Donno what he can do,. If there is no way I'll live like that for the next year and a half!
Thank you for sharing, did you find a solution or did you just stop treatment?
July 10, 2020
I have been in treatment for about 4 years now having braces, herbst and now Invisalign. Whenever my teeth hurt while sleeping I have awful nightmares, I wake up sweaty, my heart is beating out of my chest and just feeling like there are demons around me and I need about 10 minutes to calm down. I skipped wearing my Invisalign for two weeks (I know I’m an idiot), my teeth barely moved but moved enough for it to hurt a little bit and now I’m scared to go to sleep...
I do sleep but my quality of sleep with Invisalign is poor. The amount of time I sleep varies each night. Any prior sleep issues are due to the fact that I am a light sleeper. I did however sleep much better before Invisalign. Also, I identify my concerns as sensitivities not phobia’s.
I’m not sure it's that deep. I think it’s more a sensitivity issue than a psychological one. But thanks for your opinion. I’m sure if I took the device out it would solve the problem, as I was sleeping much better without it. I do think it's a short-sighted perspective. I'm sure there are exceptions to the the rule? I’m not imagining the device in my mouth, it’s actually there and it’s uncomfortable is the main point. As far as a few dreams about it being in my mouth. I would say it’s no different than watching the news or a movie before bed and having dreams about what was on TV the night before. I don’t think that would be considered a phobia. A more logical interpretation might be that it’s a foreign object made of plastic and it doesn’t belong there naturally and depending upon the degree of sensitivity a person might have it could be more bothersome for some and less for others.
I also want to make a point about anyone considering Invisalign. It’s a major commitment and lifestyle change. Invisalign comes with special challenges. Your eating habits will likely change which means no more snacking during the day, your sleep may temporarily be disrupted to different degrees, Initially your speech may be affected, traveling will be more complicated, you’ll need to brush and floss after every meal and this can be very time consuming. I take a shorter lunch break at work to brush and floss. A good doctor will explain all of the pros and possible cons in detail so that you make an informed decision. One size does not fit all. For anything other than cosmetic purposes I would highly suggest seeing an Orthodontist. There are several factors that will play a part in selecting the appropriate treatment. Including but not limited to jaw issues, bite issues, structural issues, even sleep issues! Also, there is always a spectrum of competency with your health care provider. They may specialize in one area but have no or little knowledge in another. Please and always get a second, even third opinion.
I just want to share this fact with others. Some may not know that According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Doctors are the third learning cause of death in the US after deaths from heart disease and cancer. There are 225,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes. What does that word iatrogenic mean? “The term is defined as induced in a patient by a physician’s activity, manner, or therapy. Used especially of a complication of treatment.”
Just saying….
It makes you REALLY sleepy and lasts for a 6-8 hour sleep. Works amazingly for killing full-body nerve pain, including in the mouth.
If you aren't allergic- children's benadryl also helps a lot. I'm 98lbs and I generally take half a dose and it knocks me out cold even on a night with new trays. I assume it should also work for adults and bigger teens.
Things like oxy and motrin don't help, though, unfortunately.
Good luck.
And you're right, it is also a sensitivity issue, but doctors don't like to admit that their patients are telling them the truth sometimes. :p