POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
40 First Time with Braces in CO - Denver, CO
ORIGINAL POST
I have always wanted to reduce my gap but couldn't...
NewTeeth2016December 30, 2014
$4,000
I have always wanted to reduce my gap but couldn't afford it. A free years back I had my wisdom teeth removed and my slight gap became the size of a quarter and growing. My dentist recommended Invisalign and here I am! My treatment plan is for a year but after reading some of these reviews I see it may be a bit longer. So long as it's not over 18 months I think I will survive.
They HURT! Had to take Advil to get through the first night. The hurt more when you take them off and you have to eat soft foods. Doc did not mention this. I feel bumps and ridges on the alignments and am now worried I may have rubber bands... This is not what I was expecting. Any advice on how to deal with excess saliva appearing in the retainers?? Or how to deal with the constant urge to grind your teeth to reduce gum pain?? #trayonenightmares
They HURT! Had to take Advil to get through the first night. The hurt more when you take them off and you have to eat soft foods. Doc did not mention this. I feel bumps and ridges on the alignments and am now worried I may have rubber bands... This is not what I was expecting. Any advice on how to deal with excess saliva appearing in the retainers?? Or how to deal with the constant urge to grind your teeth to reduce gum pain?? #trayonenightmares
Replies (2)
January 1, 2015
Hi and welcome! Funny you should mention it im sitting here clentching and chewing on my trays :( trying to kick the habit ;)
Try doing your tray change at night. Ive found popping them in before bed and taking some advil, they get a long period overnight to settle in a bit and you dont have to take them out to eat. Ive found mine to be quite tender for a few days and really hard foods I avoid. Chewies are awesome for gnawing at when they are aching! As is acceledent if you are using it.
UPDATED FROM NewTeeth2016
2 days post
Sore!!
NewTeeth2016December 31, 2014
I am on day 3 - my top teeth are extremely tender. Hard to each or chew. I have to cut everything in small pieces and move it to the back. Eating very slow. Cold and hot drinks help. Does anyone have tips on how to keep the aligners from rubbing your tongue? Frustrating!
Replies (3)
December 31, 2014
Thanks for updating us! You should be at the end of the worst part of tenderness, but it won't go completely away. If the aligners are very sharp on your tongue, ask your doctor about filing the trays. If it's just because your tongue is playing with the trays, there is not much you can do about it other than slowly getting used to having a foreign object in your mouth! This is a big deal, you know? And you won't get used to it in just a few days. But you are sticking with it, and things do get easier. I promise! One stop-gap measure is to use orthodontic wax on the parts that are rubbing your tongue. Make sure to dry everything off very thoroughly before you attempt to stick the wax on. :)
Happy New Year!
January 1, 2015
Yes try the wax! I filed my first tray a little but I took some advice on here and purchased wax for tray 2 and it was awesome!.
But yeah my first tray totally shreaded my tongue underneath it was horrible. Mention to the ortho/dentist next appointment and see if he can file them for you. In the meantime grab some wax from the chemist :)
January 2, 2015
Welcome to RealSelf! This place is an awesome support system when you're sore and achy (I've had a couple of posts where I was just harping about the pain). I agree with JMOE and TwoPlusOne - dental wax is a lifesaver! I have a whole block of the stuff and I use it every now and again and it's been a huge help.
I just switched to my third tray and I'm definitely dreading the pain and soreness I'll be feeling over the next couple of days. I also have gappy teeth (except I'm not as lucky as you - I have multiple gaps in my front teeth, not just one!). It definitely gets better. :) JMOE and TwoPlusOne told me the same thing when I was in my first trays, and I didn't believe them... well, they were right!
Can't wait to see your progress. :)
UPDATED FROM NewTeeth2016
14 days post
Tray 2
NewTeeth2016January 13, 2015
Starting on tray 2 today and much less pain than last time. Not much to report I go back after incomplete two weeks with this set. I am scheduled for attachments and will ask some additional questions based on things I have learned on this site. Anyone with a gap have a problem with saliva building in the aligner??
Replies (7)
January 13, 2015
I think saliva builds up in all aligners..I have no gap but I find that it builds up frequently..it normal because as you swallow and talk your tongue sort of guides it into the tray..as gross as it may seem you can kind of "suck" the excess out..I keep a bottle of water half a lemon squeezed in very close by all the time...it's extremely healthy.. refreshes your mouth and takes the saliva with it..if you can't deal with lemon..plain water is fine...Your breath can become a menace to society REAL quick if you don't brush at least three times a day and keep the saliva gone!! (Never suck on candy..that will cause discoloration to the trays and cavities..Good luck my dear!! :)
January 13, 2015
Yeah the saliva is so glamorous! Especially when it bubbles out the top :/
January 13, 2015
We have a lot of people with gaps and extracted teeth who've posted pictures of the saliva building up in their trays. It's much more visible in those cases, but, like danni318 said, it happens to everyone who isn't suffering from dry-mouth!
January 14, 2015
I guess there is a positive because I would hate the dry mouth but it does look as if my aligners are sweating. I will try the lemon water.
January 15, 2015
Yea a little not a lot. I'm on tray 8 I've came along way bottom teeth are about straight
Congratulations on getting to do this for yourself! A lot of people experience minimal pain--sometimes I wonder if maybe the doctors use that fact to not bother mentioning that some of us do feel quite a lot of pain ;). I never had to take Advil for my teeth (but the headaches the trays caused were a whole different ballgame!)
So, the bumps and ridges are not for elastics. If you were getting elastics, you would have either small cutouts that hold the elastics or large cutouts where they'll attach a button (a metal attachment that holds elastics) or both. The larger bumps are probably for your regular attachments, which I'm surprised they haven't given you yet, since usually they attach them once the bumps show up on your trays. But it's very common to not get attachments until tray 3. The ridges are likely power ridges, and they just make the trays tighter on your teeth so they can apply better pressure :). It's possible you'll have elastics down the road, but you'll have to ask in order to find out, I think :).
As far as the grinding/clenching, that is a habit many of get into and it's not a great one. But if you get some chewies, they will likely help you seat the aligners better, which helps with the bubbles in the trays as well. It also helps get rid of pain a little faster, people say. Your doctor should have these so you can call and ask them. Otherwise, they can be purchased online. Just look up Invisalign Aligner Chews. Something like that :). They come in colors and plain white.