Do Invisalign Teen aligners hurt?
Every candidate for Invisalign Teen treatment asks us – will it hurt? Our honest answer – there will be some degree of discomfort. The whole point of Invisalign Teen treatment is to shift your teen’s teeth into a straighter, healthier smile, which would require some degree of pressure on the teeth. But this discomfort fades away after the teeth adjust to wearing the aligners and to having new aligners swapped in and out.
There are three sources of pain when it comes to Invisalign Teens:
- the soreness that comes from the aligners pressing against the teeth
- the pain that comes with having the aligners in your mouth
- if aligners need adjustment – rough edges on aligners
When aligners are pressing against the teeth, it might lead to soreness. This soreness may appear during the first few days after a new set of aligners is put on, but it eventually wears off, until it is time to use another set of aligners. Few Invisalign Teen wearers would describe this sensation as pain, per se. For most people, it is merely a discomfort that you get used to and then forget about once it is over. For those with low pain tolerance, however, it can be very uncomfortable and, at times, painful.
The edges of Invisalign Teen aligners, while not sharp, can be irritating to your teen’s gums and the insides of his/her lips as their mouth gets used to wearing them. Over the first couple of weeks, the mouth will adjust to the feeling of wearing clear aligners. And by the time your child will need to move to the second stage of aligners, his/her mouth will likely be fully adjusted to wearing the plastic retainers, and he/she won’t experience any peripheral pain.
Some Invisalign wearers will experience discomfort caused by improper finishing of the aligners. This sort of trouble can be easily fixed, by telling the team at Happy kids Dental, who will be at hand to smooth out the edges of the aligner and help your teen feel comfortable.
Ways to reduce the discomfort of Invisalign Teen
Most of Happy Kids Dental patients state that they have some degree of discomfort after putting in a new set of aligners, however, this feeling fades away after the first few days and the jaw and teeth are no longer sore.
For those who continue to feel slightly uncomfortable – finding a way to relieve the pain is a good idea. If the pain is caused by tensing the jaw or even grinding the teeth, a little bit of pressure can help to relieve this tension. The team at Happy Kids Dental, suggests chewing on something, or even drinking cold or hot drinks. And as a last resort, a pain killer can help to relax the muscles, but it is rarely required.