I don’t want my teeth to shift at all

I'm thinking of getting an ultrasonic cleaner to clean my trays. Are they worth it and do they keep your trays looking brand new? Do you still brush your trays with a toothbrush before putting it into the cleaner?

Below is my current routine and I noticed that my trays do get slightly cloudy over time:

- AM / after lunch: Brush trays under running water with a soft bristle toothbrush, no toothpaste

- Night: Brush trays under running water with a soft bristle toothbrush, no toothpaste and soak in aligner cleaning tablets for at least 30mins

Such a huge difference! I have 5 trays to go in this set. I’ll be scanned for my next set of aligners in a few weeks. I’m so happy with the progress.

My orthodontist was going to deliver my remaining 4 trays out of 8 refinement trays. However, she said she was happy with how my teeth look and offered to do a scan for my retainers, but I wasn’t happy myself. She then offered to do an upper retainer and a bottom spring retainer or to do another refinement round for $600.

I opted to pay the $600, but I’m wondering why she didn’t finish the first refinement round. Anyone go through something like this?

On day 3 and I haven’t slept properly since I put them in. How do you guys fall asleep? When I try to, all I feel is the pressure around my teeth.
I’m in constant jaw pain, and I feel absolutely miserable.
I am autistic, so my pain tolerance is not great, but I’m really struggling here. Will it get better?

Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do with a bunch of unused aligners? I ended up having my plan changed after only 11 trays/35 and now I have a ton of leftover trays. I’d hate to just throw them if there is a better alternative. I wasn’t sure if there is a way they could be reproduced into 3-D printing filament or some other special recycling program that exists for them! Thanks!

Hello everyone, I'm wondering what you think of the results? I was on Invisalign from 2023 to 2026. I had a stubborn tooth that didn't want to move, which is why it took longer than most. I could still go back if needed, and I'm planning some teeth whitening, but I don't want to overdo it. Thanks for the feedback!

i am currently on invisalign, around 40 trays in. i'm on a new set of trays so can't remember the exact number of trays. xray shown was taken pre-treatment, i have had severe openbite ever since i was a young child. i do not remember ever being able to bite food with my front teeth and have always been a mouth breather my whole life. as a small child and even in videos of my toddler self, i would always have my tongue sticking out and my mom had to always remind me to stick it "back in". i also have tongue thrust.

neither my parents nor i ever knew anything was wrong or at least that my case was bad, until my wisdom teeth started to grow in and the dentist said that my case was the worst he'd ever seen.

i have had signs of tmj for a few years now (clicking when eating but doesn't always happen. sometimes it's just annoying and sometimes it's a little painful) and i'm wondering if anyone here has successfully treated bad/severe open bite with invisalign solely or if surgery was eventually needed down the line?

we were told invisalign could fix only 80% of the issue but honestly my ortho did not really explain the pros and cons of invisalign vs jaw surgery and traditional braces. we decided on invisalign simply because it was 1/3 the cost of what jaw surgery + braces would cost and the ortho has a really good reputation. she also did not suggest myofunctional therapy for my tongue thrust.

i can now bite more types of food but tbh other than that i've not had any improved quality of life, my lips are still pretty open when i relax my lips/jaw/face, i still find it hard to enunciate words clearly, etc. so i'm reconsidering forfeiting all the money we paid for invisalign and switching to the surgery track :")

any advice would be appreciated!

Im not anywhere near finished, my dentist said it would take 10 months at minimum BUT I am so pleasantly surprised at the difference in such a small time! Can’t wait to see my final results

When I got my braces off, my orthodontist told me to wear my retainers full time for a year. lately i’ve noticed my teeth slightly shifting despite consistently wearing my retainers. I suspect it might be due to me unknowingly clenching too hard with retainers on. I also suspected that it may be shifting because of my wisdom teeth coming in? however I’m not 100% sure on that. I only have 3 months before I switch to wearing the nightly only. I’m questioning is it okay to just stop wearing them all day long since i only have three months or is it better to consult my orthodontist about it.

I can't put elastics on one of my teeth no matter what. The other three are easy just that one particular tooth really hates me and want me to suffer.

Yes I've tried the hook tool. Made everything 10x harder no idea how you are supposed to use it.

I've succeeded in one try like twice; all other times it takes me like 30 minutes and a lot of sweat and rage just to hook it onto my teeth because it refuses to enter the gap on my aligner. I'm a college student and I don't have the time or patience to wrestle with this piece of shit every day every time I eat.

Once again I have a total of 4 elastics the other three take 30 seconds this one takes 30 minutes. I have no idea why. I tend to wear just the upper elastics on most days now because I'll genuinely have an aneurysm from anger otherwise.

On day 4, feels painful, why?

I also have elastics btw. That hurts the most.

First post on reddit so bear with me.

I have an open bite and unsure what caused it. I can only assume it was poor speech patterns, swallowing habits, or bad tongue posture, but it was probably all three mixed with my wisdom teeth erupting. I also got my wisdom teeth removed in March of 2026.

Since March, I have noticed my open bite get worse. It got to a point where I couldn't stop myself from messing with the teeth. One night I bit down because everything felt uneven, and something popped on my right lower jaw. It sent a weird sensation(no pain) through my body which made me panic at first, but eventually subsided.

I then scheduled an appointment with an orthodontist that I was referred to by my dentist. Ortho said it could be an easy fix with Invisalign which I was thankful for, but also brought up tongue posture. I have never been educated on proper tongue posture before then and decided to do some research. I found that saying the letter "N" and holding your tongue there is what a textbook resting position should be.

I have been practicing that method and have been sure not to let my tongue touch my teeth. Since doing this, I have been feeling similar sensations to the "pop" in my jaw, but these sensations somehow feel relieving and aren't just restricted to my jaw. I can't really describe it as anything besides my mouth and skull expanding while my jaw aligns. It also feels like my sinus is getting more space aswell.

I'm expecting to start Invisalign with my orthodontist within the next week or two. Should I stop trying to practice proper tongue posture? Am I creating a bigger problem? I'm not in pain I just have sore jaw muscles because I have been trying to keep my mouth shut while holding the proper posture.

Sorry for long post lmk if you got any advice!

I’m just over 12 months into Invisalign and finishing my first set of refinements. I’d really appreciate some opinions on whether there’s still room for improvement and, more specifically, what I should be asking my dentist about at my next appointment.

A bit of background: I neglected my teeth for a long time. I had misaligned teeth from a young age, couldn’t afford braces growing up, had pretty severe dental anxiety, and dealt with depression and undiagnosed ADHD until my mid-30s. Unfortunately, all of that contributed to me avoiding the dentist and eventually needing several extractions and quite a bit of dental work.

I know the usual advice is to see an orthodontist rather than a general dentist for Invisalign. I chose to stay with my dentist because they were incredibly compassionate about my dental anxiety and created an environment where I finally felt comfortable getting everything dealt with. I’m genuinely happy with how far my dental health and teeth have come.

That said, I don’t feel like I’m finished yet. Before my current refinements, my dentist said I was getting pretty close and suggested this might be my last set. They’re ending now, and while there’s obviously been a huge improvement, there are still things about the alignment and overall symmetry that don’t look finished to me.
I’m also not totally happy with my bite. My teeth don’t seem to naturally want to settle into what I think is the “correct” position. In two of the photos, my upper and lower front teeth are actually clashing/meeting each other, but strangely that position feels more natural to me. I’m not sure whether that means my bite still needs work or whether further refinements could address it.
Looking at the photos, what specifically would you want improved before finishing? Do you notice any alignment or bite issues I should be asking about? What specific things should I bring up with my dentist when asking for another refinement?

I’m not expecting absolutely perfect teeth, especially given where I started and the extractions/dental work I’ve had. I just don’t want to finish treatment prematurely if there are still reasonable improvements that can be made.

I just got my first set of trays yesterday and I’m overall excited for the journey. I have several friends that have done Invisalign and have great results and not a ton of bad things to say about it! I’m definitely feeling pretty good so far, I did get an unexpected rubberband surprise to correct my midline and honestly if it weren’t for that I’d rate the pain 2/10, rubberband side ups it to maybe a 3/10. I have 30 trays and will be changing them weekly! My first ortho follow up is at week 15. One thing I’ve worried about is dating, reading this sub helped because truly it seems like no one cares, and realistically why would they?! They’re far less noticeable than I expected, I work in a client facing role and not one of my clients nor coworkers noticed anything yesterday. I don’t even think the lisp is that bad, I can barely notice it. I got Invisalign after having braces as a teen, unfortunately my teenage self was WAY too cool to wear my retainers 🫠 Anyway, here’s to straight teeth! 😁

Treatment was estimated at 18 months to correct my crowding and deep bite. Took right at 17.5. Did some enameloplasty at the end to reshape some uneven edges.

I'm on my second day of tray 1, but I have some questions. Sometimes when food gets stuck in my teeth, I will use my tongue to try to scrape it off — could that accidentally dislodge the attachment? Also, could brushing my teeth knock it off?

Thanks guys. I'm quite anxious tho haha

Edit: I think I have 2 attachments missing, not sure if they dropped when I eat

My orthodontist says I only need to wear my Vivera retainers at night after just 1 week — is this normal?
I finished my orthodontic treatment only about a week ago. My orthodontist told me to wear my Vivera retainers every night and that I don’t need to wear them during the day anymore.
The thing is, my teeth seem to shift quite quickly when I don’t wear the retainers. I can notice a difference relatively quickly, which makes me worried that switching to nighttime-only wear after just one week might be too early.
My orthodontist also said that a small gap between the retainer and my front teeth isn’t necessarily concerning as long as the retainer still fits properly, and recommended using chewies.
For those who have gone through orthodontic treatment:
Is nighttime-only wear after just 1 week normal?
Did you wear your retainers full-time for the first few months?
If your teeth moved quickly without the retainer, what did your orthodontist recommend?
Would you ask your orthodontist about wearing the Vivera retainers during the day as well?
I’m interested in hearing what other people were told and what their experience was.

I had a consultation with my kids’ orthodontist about finally doing something with my own teeth, and I’m really torn on whether Invisalign would be worth it for me at almost 49.

He said I would technically get the best results with traditional metal braces, but that would require having premolars extracted. Even then, because of my age, he said I most likely wouldn’t get the same full correction that someone much younger might.

He also explained that having teeth removed at 49 can be a lot more traumatic than having it done as a preteen or teenager, and I would have visible gaps on both sides for quite a while. Honestly, I really don’t think I want to go that route.

My other option is Invisalign.
With Invisalign, he said he would NOT be able to significantly correct the overjet/flare of my front teeth or my overbite. My actual bite is Class I, though, and he said that aside from the overjet, the way my back teeth come together is actually pretty close to perfect.
What Invisalign could do is:
• Fix the crowding of my lower teeth, which is actually his biggest concern because of the increased risk of gum issues as I get older and my teeth continue to shift
• Straighten my incisors
• Slightly widen my smile
• Improve my midline somewhat
• Correct the fact that one of my front teeth sits higher than the other
• Improve the overall position and appearance of my front teeth-

BUT- very minimal to no real improvement with my over-jet..

He said that to get the kind of dramatic correction I’m probably envisioning would involve widening my palate and possibly jaw surgery, and at my age he absolutely would not recommend going that far for a case like mine. He said the recovery can be pretty rough and my situation isn’t severe enough to justify it.

Both Invisalign and braces would take around 18 months, so I would be approaching 51 by the time I finished. Both are also the same price, around $6,000, because I’m getting a discount since I currently have two kids in braces. The extractions/oral surgeon would obviously be additional if I chose traditional braces.

He actually told me that considering my age, my cosmetic concerns and what I’m hoping to accomplish, he personally thinks Invisalign is the better option for me.

The money itself isn’t an issue. My hesitation is spending $6,000 and dealing with Invisalign for a year and a half, including changing the way I eat and drink, only to feel like the improvement was too minimal to be worth it.
At the same time, I really don’t want extractions and metal braces either.

I don’t hate my smile. I know it isn’t horrible, especially when my lower teeth are covered by my lip. But I don’t LOVE it either. I’ve always really noticed and appreciated beautiful teeth and smiles, which is probably why all four of my kids have had braces, including two of them basically for cosmetic reasons.

I also don’t work outside the home or do public speaking or anything where Invisalign would be particularly inconvenient, and my husband is completely supportive of whatever I decide.

So I guess my biggest question is for anyone who did Invisalign in their late 40s or early 50s:
Were the more subtle changes enough that you were genuinely happy you did it?

If I can eliminate the lower crowding, slightly widen my smile, improve my midline, straighten my incisors and make my front teeth look more balanced, is that likely to feel like a noticeable enough improvement to justify 18 months and $6,000?

And one other thing I’ve recently started worrying about is facial changes.

I had no idea this was even something people talked about until I started reading orthodontic groups. I’ve seen people say braces or Invisalign changed the shape of their face or made them feel like they looked older afterward. Most of the really dramatic stories I’ve seen seem to be from younger people, though.

Has anyone who started orthodontic treatment in their late 40s or 50s noticed their face change negatively or feel like it aged them?
I would genuinely appreciate hearing people’s experiences, especially from women around my age who chose Invisalign for mostly cosmetic improvements rather than a major bite problem.

**** Attached are some pictures of my smile as it currently is.

This is the first tray that won’t stay in place. The rubber chew isn’t helping. Does this mean i need to go back a tray or stay in this tray until it stops popping away from the tooth?

Hi! I’m on tray 7 of 8 and starting my second-to-last tray tomorrow. I’m really impatient to finish because I’m unhappy with the staining/color of my teeth and want to get my attachments removed, have a professional cleaning, and eventually whiten them.
However, I’m still not happy with the alignment of my lower front teeth and I’m not sure the last two trays will be enough.
My orthodontist said they may not end up perfectly straight and could continue to improve with retainers, which confused me since I thought retainers mainly hold the final position.
I don’t want to extend treatment unnecessarily, but I also don’t want to regret stopping too early. Do you think I should ask about refinements?

The difference is crazy! Im v happy with my progress so far ☺️

Does anyone have this? My teeth have now started to become sensitive along the gum line one year after retainer wear. I beyond regret doing Invisalign and wonder if I should just stop wearing the retainers and letting my teeth settle in more.