If you want straighter teeth without the juvenile appearance of metal braces, then clear Invisalign braces may be a good choice. The aligners do work well for many people, but some people do find them a tad bit uncomfortable, even though they are far more gentle than metal tooth straightening options. The aligners are most uncomfortable when you first put them in. This means that you should try to make the process of switching to a new set of aligners as painless as possible.
Slip Them In At Night
If you want your aligners to work as quickly as possible, then you do need to stick to a fairly consistent schedule. This means that you replace or switch the aligners as close to the recommended two week mark as you can. You also should try to switch the braces at the same times of day as you did the previous set, and the best time for this is in the evening.
If you switch your aligners around bedtime, then you can avoid the initial discomfort of the new aligners. The aligners do typically cause some soreness for the first few days with the largest amount of pain felt when they are first secured in the mouth. This is the case due to the way the braces place pressure on the teeth. Specifically, they force the connective tissues around the tooth to stretch. These tissues are called the periodontal ligaments and one ligament sits next to each tooth and holds it in place along the jaw. These ligaments must stretch considerably each time a new pair of aligners is added to the mouth. The stretching is what causes the discomfort, but the pain is only felt for a day or two. The worst stretching pain occurs when you force the aligners over the teeth for the first time. Wearing the aligners at night means that you will sleep through most of the discomfort.
Bite Down On A Washcloth
Some people want the aligner discomfort to subside as quickly as possible, while others find a prolonged and dull ache acceptable as long as the discomfort is not too great. If you are the type of person who want the pain to subside quickly, then there are a few things you can do, and biting down on a damp washcloth is one of them.
If you have ever had a toothache and have found yourself biting on the tooth in an effort to reduce the pain, then you know that pressure can relieve some discomfort. Placing stress on a painful tooth overwhelms the nerve of the tooth with physical sensation information. You then feel more pressure than pain. If you place a wet washcloth in your mouth and gently bite down on it with the aligners on the teeth, then you can place this sort of pressure on all the teeth. Also, the washcloth can help to force the aligners over the teeth if they are tight.
