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Anyone get braces/invisalign as an adult?

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rockzilla

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I am getting invisalign, but for 4 months before I have to wear an "appliance" to align my bite. Yesterday they put in these "spacers" which didn''t hurt the first 6-8 hours, but now I am in so much PAIN! I can only eat soft things. Is this normal? Taking advil helps somewhat, but it is still sore...Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end.

RZ
 

fire&ice

Ideal_Rock
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Jul 22, 2002
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Date: 2/8/2007 1:57:22 PM
Author:rockzilla
I am getting invisalign, but for 4 months before I have to wear an ''appliance'' to align my bite. Yesterday they put in these ''spacers'' which didn''t hurt the first 6-8 hours, but now I am in so much PAIN! I can only eat soft things. Is this normal? Taking advil helps somewhat, but it is still sore...Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end.

RZ
I had braces as a child & the pain is like nothing else. It does subside though & is normal. My friend (late 40''s) had braces put on about 2 years ago. The only thing that relieved her pain was a few glasses of wine! She said it was near unbearable. Her ortho didn''t tell her she would be in pain. He said she would have some "discomfort". As she said, "discomfort my a**". She goes through this each time they tighten the braces. I have heard it was worse for adults. With her, if she doesn''t treat the pain with wine - sooner rather than later - she gets bad headaches.

Sorry about your pain
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, When I had to be on a soft diet (gum graft), I was very limited to what I could eat. I ate quite a bit of soups & a side of softer french fries. Cream soups really felt good and then a little chocolate milk.
 

monarch64

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Rockzilla, there is a very helpful website especially for adults with braces, called archwired.com. Go to the "metal mouth message board" and there you will find tons of posts about braces, spacers, basically anything you can think of that will help with your questions.

There is another poster here, Island Dreams, who had traditional braces this past year...i think she recently got them taken off, but maybe she''ll chime in here and help you out also. Good luck!
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rockzilla

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Thanks for the well wishes and the recommendation of the other message board...though I don''t know if I can afford to be addicted to another board! PS has already got me!

RZ
 

eks6426

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Nov 19, 2004
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I had braces for most of 2006. I couldn't do the invisalign because my teeth needed more movement than invisilign would allow. I had Damon 3s. I just got them off in December 06. I had 6 years of orthodontic work as a kid/teen including some really horrible headgears and regular metal braces. I wore my retainers for the years I was supposed to. But my teeth shifted a lot from 18-25. I was 34 when I got the braces put on.

Here's what I learned:

Braces hurt more as an adult. I'm not sure why, but they definitely hurt more as an adult then they did when I was a kid. Not sure if I am less pain tolerant now or if the Damon 3 moved stuff in a way that made them hurt more.

Braces as an adult are a real pain in social situations. I was extremely self conscious in them all the time. I think I cared a lot less about the spinach stuck in them as a kid. As an adult I don't think I've ever brushed my teeth so much.

Other people don't really notice your braces. As I said above, I was self conscious of my teeth. Strangely enough a lot of people never noticed. They certainly don't say much. Even when I got them off people didn't say anything. That was very weird.

Ibuprofen is your friend. Take it frequently to keep the pain down. I learned to take it BEFORE any adjustments. In your case, I'd definitely take it 1 hour before you put in a new set of trays.

Wax is your friend. Helps with canker sores. So does rinsing with warm salt water.

It's great to have straight teeth when you're done.

Retainers are better than braces but still a pain. I have Invisilign style retainers. They are hard plastic that go over every tooth. I have to sleep in them the rest of my life. Thankfully I don't have to wear them during the day. They are ok as far as retainers go but they are definitely tight every night. My teeth always hurt for about an hour because I think they shift a bit each day. Since all your teeth will be moving with your Invisilign expect some pain. My lips are also really dry at night from the retainers. Aquaphore Healing Ointment has been a savior on this (works way better than vaseline). Good news for you is that the Invisiligns aren't really seen when you're wearing them as long as you keep them clean. (They get yucky easily).

Good luck and enjoy your new teeth. I'll be worth it in the end.

I also recommend the website Monarch recommended. It was definitely useful. Feel free to ask more questions.
 

curlygirl

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Apr 9, 2005
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My husband has Invisalign. Every time he puts new "trays" in, his teeth are sore the day after for a couple of days. It does subside but I guess it''s just the movement that causes it. On a positive note, he''s had them for almost a year and his teeth look amazing! He had some overcrowding issues and everything seems to be fixed now. I think he has one month to go and then he''s done. I''m jealous because I had regular metal braces when I was young. Those were miserable!!
 

chiefneil

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Feb 7, 2007
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I had braces for a few years when I was in my early 30''s. Yes, it hurts a lot for a few days after adjustments. Getting them on initially was the worst - it hurt for about 5 days. The best thing to do is take lots of Advil (when it was really bad I''d take double or triple the typical dose, but be careful as ibuprofin can cause upset stomach) and eat soft food.

What was really, really freaky was when some of my teeth actually got loose! I swear one or two were only held in place by the bracket; without the bracket it felt like they would just fall out. I remember calling my ortho in a panic when I noticed that and still not entirely believing them when they said it was normal.

Definitely take the advil at least an hour before the appointment, and don''t miss a scheduled dose. These days so many adults wear braces that nobody really notices or comments. Or maybe all my co-workers were just too polite. But nobody at work commented either when I had them or when I got them off.
 

diamondfan

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Jun 17, 2005
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any time you have dental work along the lines of moving teeth and making space it is going to hurt. eat soft stuff and take advil. I had braces as a kid but when my wisdom teeth came in my mouth was crowded and my lower center teeth moved...I went to this ortho in Beverly Hills who patented this teeth moving system...it goes on the inside of your teeth and is like a retainer, you can take it out if you want, but the more you wear it the faster treatment goes. I would go in once a month and he would tighten it and in three months my teeth were perfect again. I can pop it in now if I need to, because teeth will have a tendency to move over time (I think it is called a misial shift)...I never had to have spacers prior, and I could take it out when I wanted so I really liked that...
 

swingirl

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Apr 6, 2006
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I have had Invisalign since October. My teeth were really crowded and overlapping on the bottem. I ended up having a damaged tooth removed to make more room. I am on my 12th set out of 33. I really love them. The results are amazing even after only several months. I put in new ones ever 10 days and honestly I feel the pressure for about an hour. When I take them out to eat my teeth are loose and it feels very odd to not have the aligners in! Because I need a lot of movement and tooth rotation I have these attachment points (like buttons) glued on 12 of my teeth so the aligner has a stable grab point. It is a little painful to remove the aligners because the buttons get caught and yank the loose teeth! But everyone finds their own best method to take them out and put them in. I ripped one in half learning the best method!

Hopefully your 4 months of regular braces will go by quickly because you will like Invisalign so much more. If you keep the aligners in for the recommended time (22 hrs a day) you won't have too much movement when they are not in. But if you leave them out for too long, it will feel like the first day every day! And the first day is the worst. Once the teeth loosen up it's not so bad. Usually I put a new aligners in at night, watch a little TV, or lurk on Pricescope and then go to sleep so by the morning they have been in for 8 hours and the worst is over.

One more thing, when I get to liner 16 I will have 6 of my teeth "slenderized". They have an electric filing thing that shaves a tiny bit off the teeth to make more space. I have crowding and need more room on top but everyone does not need this proceedure.

I really like my orthodontist. He treated both my kids with regular braces (I had to make mashed potatoes, smoothies and baby cereal for 4 days after every major adjustment) and I trust his judgement. So make sure the orthodontist you go to has had many Invisalign patients.

Hope all goes well for you, Rockzilla. And keep taking the Advil. You can up the dose of Advil until it takes away the ache. Ask you doctor how much can you take. When it's over you'll be really pleased with the results. Oh, one more thing. Since I stopped eating between meals (because it is a pain to brush, floss and deal with the aligners) I have lost 12 lbs!! No kidding. I stopped snacking, eating while cooking, drinking anything other than water. Not bad!!
 

Nicrez

Ideal_Rock
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Jan 21, 2004
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3,230
I just gave myself the pricey little gift of teeth enhancement recently as well. I had the Invisalign put in just two weeks ago! I am so excited, because nothing is ore attractive that a white, perfect smile...they hurt.

And the buttons on the teeth are to help move them and they are tooth colored, so you don''t see them almost at all. Basically each new tray has the space for those buttons, and as the trays progress, the buttons move .0XX mm in position on the trays to align the teeth better. I think within 10 weeks or 6 trays the teeth will have moved about 1 mm. Or so my dentist said...

Sure it hurts! Don''t worry, the good news is...you get used to it!
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So, the weird thing is I don''t mind them in either. At first I swore I would rip my teeth off when I tried to take off the trays, but honestly, it gets easier. And I have to say my teeth are getting Hollywood white, with my new obsession of washing the trays and brushing my teeth after every sip of water. I am not used to having anything in for so long, so my hygene has always been a bit more tidy, but as an adult I am neurotic! Plus, people always complement on how shiny my teeth look (when it''s really the plastic!) and I have a friend who uses her old trays for photoshoots! Isn''t that funny!?

You know what helps ease my pain besides tylenol, advil and other such meds? Shoe shopping.
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(seriously, I use an electric tooth brush that is wonderful for messaging the sore spots. For natural pain relief I was told essence of clove (clove oil) is supposed to be good. Plus if your mouth is in TOO much pain, see your dentist. I have to get my tray on the third day filed down a bit because my delicate lining was getting scraped up!

You will LOVE the effect of Invisalign, and after 4-6 weeks, you can really see the difference! Granted you won''t be used to all this stuff, but think of it this way, your teeth will be straighter, (probably whiter if you''re nuts like me), and in the end you''ll have a perfect tray to bleach your teeth in, your aligners!
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Good luck! Just imagine the amazing effect when you are done! Invisalign are great, I LOVE them!
 

Nicrez

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
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3,230
Oh other side effects:

Your teeth feel sensitive when your aligners are off (because you can not eat with them in), and you tend to eat less, and eat more easily digestable foods. In turn that''s better for your digestive system, and eating less and not wanting to snack as often to deal with the aligners in and out, in and out...has helped me unintentionally lose 10 lbs!

My teeth are straightening, I am brushing them several times a day with a mild whitener and they are getting whiter, eating softer foods, I am losing weight and my teeth are shinier looking.

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love invisalign...
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