Attachments suck

[Zoso]

These things make it impossible to get the braces off, and when you do it flower hurts. Your teeth are sore at the root from being in a new set and you have to rip the braces out, which pulls on the attachments and hurts your teeth. I've barely eaten today because it's too much of an ordeal to get them out.

My first set I had no attachments and it was a breeze to get them in and out. Oddly, this attachment set is more comfortable in practice than the first one, but it's such a pain in the ass--and teeth--to get them out. It feels like the attachments are gonna be yanked right off. And to put them in, you gotta snap them, which leaves them sore for like 10 minutes.

To my surprise it doesn't make a huge difference aesthetically. I would trade worse aesthetics for this though. What a pain in the richard this whole thing is.

[Bellalalala]

I remember the first day I had my aligners (with attachments) and I felt like I was going to break my teeth off!

Practice, practice, practice, and try a lot of different techniques.

I have long-ish nails, so I dig my nails under the edge, right above the attachments on one side to pull it off slightly, and then do the same thing on the other side.

I don't even let my dentist take them off anymore at appointments.

You can try a crochet hook or similar tool if you want to avoid having long nails.

[DrJasonKTam]

It definitely becomes easier to take them on and off. We actually ask our patients to put them on and take them off by themselves, rather than do it for them since they have become so proficient at knowing exactly how the aligners slide on and off most easily.

Good luck :).

[DrJasonKTam]

It definitely becomes easier to take them on and off. We actually ask our patients to put them on and take them off by themselves, rather than do it for them since they have become so proficient at knowing exactly how the aligners slide on and off most easily.

Good luck :).

[nycgrrl]

i had the same problem, when i would try to take them off my teeth would hurt so much! but im 4 days into my 1st tray and already it's much better - i have 8 attachments.

[Zoso]

Alright, day 2 it's been substantially easier just as it was with tray 1 without attachment. It's still much harder to get them off but the trays are now flexible enough and the roots are now less sore after the initial shock of a new tray. So I'm not stuck in them anymore.

I have 3 on top. What I do is pry them off in back, then flex them in a forward direction to get them over the nobs. It takes about 5 seconds.

I have 2 on bottom, on the first premolars. All I have to do there is pry them at once on those two teeth and they pull right out.

I suspect it'll get increasingly easier, then go through the same stuff again for each tray. At least in future trays I can start them at night and get a night's sleep in them to break them in. Can't do that when you first get attachments, unless you get them at 11PM.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Take it from me, in a few sets it will be just as easy to get them off with attachments as it was without. I can get them off in about 2-3 seconds. I'm almost disappointed as it means that I constantly whip them out to eat without even thinking.
Believe me, it gets better. You just have to get through the first couple of weeks.

[kezzakattami]

I would love to say it got less painful for me but it didnt...I just got to know what to expect (which was 'some' comfort I guess!)

In the first 3 days of most trays, I would pull the trays off and look down expecting to see a number of teeth still in the trays lol it was that painful! Some trays it was so painful that I would pop some painkillers an hour before taking them out to eat and would limit eating to twice a day, having a big breakfast and then dinner about 6pm.

Having said that, I'm now in retainers and still maintain that every ounce of pain was worth it....ahh, the price of vanity huh!!!

[Zoso]

It is pretty much easy to get them in and out now. The first day sucked, the second day was about 50% better and after that it became more or less the same as with no attachments. The difference is that they snap on and kind of snap off...you need to kind of rip them out instead of slip them out.

So looking forward to 14 more bad days (first day of each subsequent pair). I guess I'll take that. Probably the worst feeling is, with the new set and the initial soreness, anticipating that jolt of pain when they snap on over the attachments. Gives you the willies. I know what to expect now though, and that it gets back to normal quickly.

[lt81]

Zoso - I also had the same issue on the first two trays with attachments (trays 2 and 3). I have since switched my time for inserting my new aligners to just before I go to bed. I have found that giving my teeth 7-8 hours to move before having to take the aligners out has made it less of an ordeal that first day and far less painful.

Not saying it won't hurt at all, but for me was more like day 2 pain, rather than day 1 pain.

Hope this helps!

[Wireless]

I usually have soreness for two or three days with a new set of aligners. For me, the worst part is trying to remove my trays from sore teeth that have attachments - it can be a real eye opener!! It takes a bit of practice to learn how to do this without too much pain and does get easier over time. I probably have soreness longer in part due to my age and also because my treatment involves intrusion of my uppers and lowers.

[Zoso]

My next set goes on the night before Thanksgiving. I might push that up to Tuesday night though before bed. For me, day 1 is bad, day 2 gets 33% better, and day 3 you're in the clear. I'm gonna need to do a lot of removal and brushing on the holiday, so I don't want to have day 1 or day 2 soreness. I'm the one cooking all the food after all.

What do you think, should I cheat once? I know some of you guys do.

[Wireless]

My option would be to change trays Thanksgiving night after the festivities are over. Whether you are moving forward or backward one day, you are still going to have 13 days on one aligner and 15 on the other.

If I have a presentation or major trip scheduled on the day I need to change aligners, I typically wait to the next day so I won't be dealing with sore teeth and harder to remove trays during these events. If you move your schedule forward, you'll probably end up with more soreness, in part because you won't be wearing your trays as much during the festivities.

Afterwards, be sure your trays are properly fitting on your attachments - this is something you should do with each new set of trays to be sure you are progressing ok. If you are really concerned - ask your ortho.

[melandy]

these things are a nightmare and I have butterflies in my belly already as I move to my second alligners tomorrow I have 7 attachments on the top and 6 on the bottom and find it a real pain to get alligners in and out they are a little easier now but I will have had them in for exactly 2 weeks tomorrow but everytime I take them out I expect to see a tooth or two attached to the alligners when I take them out either that or a snapped alligner - I am only at the start - do they remove attachments as you go along or is this it till the end ?????

[DrJasonKTam]

these things are a nightmare and I have butterflies in my belly already as I move to my second alligners tomorrow I have 7 attachments on the top and 6 on the bottom and find it a real pain to get alligners in and out they are a little easier now but I will have had them in for exactly 2 weeks tomorrow but everytime I take them out I expect to see a tooth or two attached to the alligners when I take them out either that or a snapped alligner - I am only at the start - do they remove attachments as you go along or is this it till the end ?????

In till the end :). You'll get used to them. The attachments do smoothen out over the course of your treatment just from insertion and removal. Keep at it. Eyes on the prize!