What level of discomfort or pain might an Invisalign patient experience?

The amount of pain that any one person will experience during their Invisalign treatment will vary. Some of the variables involved are personality type, type of tooth movements the patient's case requires and the specific type of tooth movement that each individual aligner has been designed to produce. Here are some tips and tricks that may help you to minimize the overall amount of discomfort or aligner pressure that you experience.

Anticipate that you may experience increased pain and pressure when switching to a new set of invisible braces.

It is common that there is some new discomfort associated with each switch to a new set of Invisalign aligners. This increase in pressure or pain may just be for a few hours or may extend for a few days before it diminishes. You may find that just one or a few teeth are sore, or you may find that all of your teeth, collectively, have new sensitivity and tenderness.

Try making the switch to a new set of aligners at bedtime.

Some patient's may find that when their new clear braces are in place they have no real discomfort but when they remove them it is a different story, possibly significantly so. As a remedy for this latter case, try planning your switch from one set of aligners to the next at night, right before bed. That will allow your teeth some hours of adjustment before you have to remove your clear braces.

Whatever amount and type of discomfort you do experience, it should subside with time. If you make your switch to your next set of aligners at bedtime that will allow at least several hours of this adjustment to occur while you are sleeping. This approach can be especially effective in combination with the use of a bedtime over-the-counter analgesic.

Over-the-counter medications can help to alleviate the pain experienced with clear braces treatment.

Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics are typically a good at minimizing the amount of pain or discomfort you experience while wearing your clear braces. Ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil), or even aspirin, can be a good choice.

The mode of action of these drugs is one where they inhibit the formation of compounds our bodies manufacture that mediate the sensation of pain. Because of this your dentist might feel that it is a good idea to get a head start on this inhibitory effect by taking a dose an hour or so before you switch to your next set of aligners. One study (Steen Law, 2000) found it beneficial to take ibuprofen 60 minutes before some orthodontic procedures. Ask your dentist for their advice. And, of course, you will need to read and follow the directions and warnings that accompany any product you choose so you know that its use is appropriate for you.

Invisible braces treatment can, at times, make eating difficult.

You may find that at some points during your Invisalign treatment that your teeth have become so tender that eating becomes somewhat of an ordeal. This difficulty may be associated with the discomfort of having to remove your aligners before you eat. Or once they have been removed, the tenderness of your teeth may be what is making chewing difficult.

During these times you will simply need to do the obvious. Eat those foods that are relatively soft and therefore take less masticatory force to chew. You may find that it's better to consume more food when you do eat and so you don't have to eat as often. It can be a good idea to initiate the use of each new set of aligners at bedtime, so hopefully your teeth will have had some hours to acclimate to the fit of the new aligners and settle down before your next meal.

Gum irritation caused by wearing invisible braces.

It is possible that some of the discomfort that you notice while wearing your clear braces is due the way that their edge rests or rubs against your gums, tongue or floor of your mouth. Clearly the remedy will be to smooth, trim or recontour the shape of these edges. Before doing so yourself, however, you should contact your dentist's office for advice. Let them explain or show you what type of augmentation is acceptable. The irritating edge must be reduced but not to a degree that it compromises the aligner's fit on your teeth and its ability to create the tooth movement it was intended to produce.