After getting Invisalign, you go through a lot of new experiences. As you have to remove and place the Invisalign trays every day, sometimes, Invisalign hurts to take off. But, Is it supposed to hurt when you take out Invisalign?
Invisalign may hurt to take off for the first time as new trays are tightly fitted on your teeth. Moreover, your teeth become sore as they put pressure on them. So, when you try to remove your aligners, it becomes more painful for you.
However, if you feel too much pain to remove the Invisalign due to very tightly fitted trays or some other reasons, you may need to take other measurements.
In this article, you will know all the reasons for which Invisalign hurts to take off and what you have to do.
However, if you are curious, you can check out this article, “When does Invisalign attachment hurt?“
Why do my teeth hurt when I take out my Invisalign?
Here are the reasons for which Invisalign hurts during removal.
Tightly fitted trays
When you get new sets of Invisalign trays, usually they fit tightly on your teeth. So for the first few days, it becomes difficult to take off dose aligners without getting hurt.
When your teeth start to move your teeth, aligners get loosened over time and you don’t have to face difficulty during removal.
Also, check out my article on unbearable Invisalign pain.
Sore teeth
You feel pain when you get new aligners. During the first few days, your teeth remain sore. Because of that, you feel more pain when you remove the aligners.
Trying to remove aligners soon after insertion
With the new set of aligners, it becomes more difficult to remove them and you feel more pain if you try to remove them soon after insertion.
Leaving aligners for too long
If you live your invisible in trace for too long because of some reasons, it will not be fitted normally. The reason for that is when you don’t wear them regularly, teeth start to move back to their previous position.
So, when you insert the aligners after a long time, they aren’t fitted properly and they will be hard to remove and cause pain.
Wrong Invisalign removal technique
If you don’t know the proper method of removing the aligners if you clean during taking off the aligners.
Putting excessive force during taking aligners off
Sometimes people put excessive force when they cannot take off the Invisalign trays easily. This may not only cause pain but also break off the attachments.
Poorly manufactured aligners
Really, a new of aligners may manufacture properly and me not feet on your teeth perfectly. In that case, you may feel pain while removing them, even after a long time.
How long does Invisalign hurt to take off?
Usually, Invisalign may hurt to take off for a day or two after you get a new set of trays. Pain goes away within a few days. However, if it hurts more than a few days, you may need to learn the proper technique of removing the aligners or consult your dentist.
What to do if Invisalign hurts to take off?
When your Invisalign hurts to take off, you can do the following things.
1. Try to remove Invisalign without pain
Since you get hurt while removing the aligners, you must follow a technique that makes the removal process easier and cause less pain.
Below I have shared all the techniques that can help you during the removal of the Invisalign trays.
2. Be patient and keep practicing
After getting a new Invisalign tray, it’s normal that you feel pain when you wear or remove them.
For the first few days, you have to keep patience because over time intensity of pain gets reduced.
Moreover, you have to keep practicing to find out how you can remove the aligners easily without any pain.
3. Take over the counter pain reliever
If you cannot tolerate the pain you can take over counter pain reliever to reduce the pain for the first few days after getting the aligners.
4. Consult with your dentist
If you cannot deal with the pain to remove the Invisalign, you can speak to your dentist who can help you solve the problem.
The dentist can teach how you can take off the aligners without pain.
Sometimes removal process becomes difficult because of manufacturing errors. So, if no other process helps you and this condition stays for a very long time, then you can consult with your dentist.
How can I remove Invisalign without pain?
Here are a few tips on how you can remove Invisalign without pain.
1. Keep your mouth warm during removal
Many Invisalign wearers have found that keeping the mouth warm during the removal of the aligners makes the work easier and may become less painful.
On the other hand, if your mouth remains cold during removal or you try to remove the aligners after drinking cold water this makes the work harder.
However, you cannot drink warm water wearing the aligners as it can distort them.
2. Try to keep mouth dry while removing
Make sure your fingers and inside of your mouth dry when you take off the Invisalign. This makes the process much easier and it takes less effort and time. Don’t drink water or decorators just before taking off the trays.
3. Start lifting the aligners off the molars
When you insert the aligners, you start at the front. But, while taking it off from your mouth you have to start lifting it off the back teeth and then work your way forward.
During removal of the Invisalign trays, you have to release them from your teeth on both sides.
For doing that, you need to use your finger to “flick” them downwards. These techniques make it easier to grab the aligners. After having them released, grab both sides.
Then, you have to pull down and forward gently over each tooth so that you don’t feel pain and discomfort.
4. Don’t rush and remove gently
During the removal of the Invisalign trays, you have to keep your patience and do the work gently.
If you feel panic, the process will become much harder and the chance of feeling pain will also be increased.
Trying to remove them forcefully can also damage the aligners or the attachments and buttons.
So, take a deep breath and try to relax before you take off the aligners.
Give yourself enough time to remove the tray slowly without hurting your teeth and mouth.
If you fail once, calm down and take a rest for a few minutes. After that try to remove the aligners again.
5. Be gentle in crowded areas
If you have too many crowded teeth you may face difficulty while removing the trays from those areas.
Keep your patience and try to rock or wiggle the aligners gently to loosen them from those areas.
Some people think that putting excessive force can have them remove the aligners from difficult areas.
But, in reality, this can break off the attachments or damage your aligners.
6. Get to attachment areas last
Most Invisalign wearers have to wear attachments to make their teeth straight. It’s also hard to remove traces from the areas where attachments are placed.
You have to start lifting off of the aligners from the easier side and get to the attachment’s areas, at last, to make it easier and less painful,
To lift the Invisalign aligners up and over the attachments, you have to hook your fingernails under the age of the trays.
You should also use aligner removal tools if you have Invisalign attachments to make the process easier.
7. Keep mouth open for a while before removal
It’s also found that opening your mouth for a while before taking off the aligners also makes the job easier and hurts less.
8. Give time in between insertion and removal
We often see that it becomes hard to remove the aligners very soon after they are inserted. It especially happens with the new set of aligners trays when they are inserted for the first time.
Trying to take off the aligners will cause you more pain during this time.
So, I will suggest that you wait for an extra hour before you take them out of your mouth. This will make that process much easier and won’t hurt you.
9. Change new Invisalign trays at the night
You should insert your new aligners before going to bed. After inserting a new set of aligners it will hurt you and the removal process will be also painful if you decide to remove them early.
When you insert them before going to bed, all these activities happen during your sleep.
Moreover, if you feel pain, you may take mild over-the-counter painkillers before going to bed.
When you wake up in the morning, it becomes much easier to remove those Invisalign trays. That’s because teeth and aligners shift during the night and make it less tightly fitted.
10. Use aligner removal tools
Aligner removal tools or hooks make Invisalign removal so easy. And, if you have Invisalign attachments, you definitely should take help from this tool.
They look very simple but are specially designed tools. You can lift the aligners away from the teeth by using the tool to hook under the edge of the aligners.
Check out the best aligner removal tools below.
Clear Aligner Invisible Braces Removal Tool
11. Use paper towels
As the removal process becomes difficult if you cannot give the aligners properly you can use paper towels to increase the grip on the aligners.
Put the paper towels on the teeth and then grasp the aligners. After that try to pull them off following the proper technique that I have described before.
You can get my preferred paper towels from below.
Paper Towels
12. Use surgical gloves
Another effective way to increase the grips on the aligners is using surgical gloves. People have also found that it’s better than a paper towel in terms of making grip. But, any type of gloves can not help you do that. You can check out these surgical gloves for this purpose.
Check out my recommended surgical gloves below.
Medical Vinyl Gloves
Are Invisalign trays hard to take off?
If you know the proper technique of taking off the Invisalign trays without hurting yourself, it’s easy to do that. However, a new set of aligners may become hard to take off, as it may cause pain during the removal.
How many times a day can you remove Invisalign?
You need to wear Invisalign for at least 22 hours each day. So, you should not take out the trays for more than 2 hours per day to be effective. Only remove the Invisalign when you eat and clean your teeth.
Takeaways
Normally, new Invisalign trays cause pain when you remove them for the first few days. This is because of the pressure your teeth feel as aligners put a force on them or your not knowing the proper technique of removing them.
Over time, the pain reduces as your teeth start to move. And, you also learn how to remove the aligners easily without pain.
Pallab Kishore is a certified dentist and the owner of Orthodontic Braces Care.
He completed BDS in 2014. Now, he is an MS resident in Orthodontics, BSMMU. He likes content writing and has 12+ years of experience in blogging.
