Hi everyone, I hope this has been a good day for you. I am considering getting Invisilines (clear plastic braces) and wonder if any of you have them and how your experience is. My neurologist seems to think I'll be fine but I'm pretty nervous about it! I have an appointment on Tuesday to discuss this with my dentist. The part that worries me the most is that I need to come in every 6-8 weeks to get them refitted. Ugh.
Anyways, have any of you had Invisilines or braces since being diagnosed with TN? Thanks in advance. :)
Hi Vicki, I had braces before I had ATN and my experience is that they do hurt for the first couple of weeks, then you get used to them. Every time I had my braces refitted I also experienced discomfort in my teeth but not as bad as at the beginning.The purpose of braces is usually to shift your teeth in one way or another and because teeth have nerves in them as we all know too well, usually the nerves get pulled or stretched as your teeth start to move. From what I heard most people who wear braces experience certain discomfort / pain in their teeth or mouth, how long will it last and how big the discomfort is is, however, individual. I wore classic (metal) braces and have no experience with Invisilines though.
I have Type 2 ATN, and have had conventional braces and Invisalgn. I admit, the conventional braces were before my TN began, and when the pain started, it went undiagnosed for several years. I those years I tried everything to relieve pressure in my jaw (I believed for some time that the pain was caused by my holding tension in my jaw muscles). I used a night guard and Invisalign after I had the braces off to 'maintain' the new position of my teeth. In my opinion, it actually makes things feel better. Often when I am stressed or have not had a good sleep, the night guard (used on my top teeth) and the Invisalign (used on my bottom teeth) help keep me from tensing my jaw too much while sleeping. I use them to this day, though sporadically, and have seen no correlation between the TN pain and the retainers. Apparently my ATN is unrelated to my tense jaw/clenching teeth issues!
On another note, braces move your teeth through the jaw bone, by building pressure in the direction the tooth is trying to be moved, and that pressure causes the bone to 'give way' to the tooth, and then the bone regrows behind the tooth. Because of this, you can expect a dull achy pain, especially when you've had big adjustments. The beauty of Invisalign is that the adjustments are quite small, so the pain should be less than that with conventional braces. I would suspect that with a new set of molds you will probably only have perhaps a week (if that) of the ache as your teeth adjust. Good luck and keep us posted!
I had braces at age 60 and am now 67, still using retainers. I was diagnosed in October with TN but have had symptoms since Spring, 2012. My MVD was in December and so far was successful. For a few months before my MVD, I could not wear my upper retainer as it pressed on a trigger point behind an upper tooth. My orthodontist recut the retainer but I still could not wear it every day.
Since my MVD, I have had no trouble wearing the retainers again.
I know this is not exactly your circumstances, but wanted to let you know what happened with me. Good luck.
before i had gotten diagnosed i had paid money and everything for ivisiline and i sometimes wonder if it helped in aiding to my pain because the day i put them on i was in horrendious pain in my head that headache u can't get rid of for three days i had it on finally i had called the ortho and he told me to take it out it wasn't suposed to give me a headahce for 3 days...but i had also gone for dental work before that so yah its all a jumbled mess of pain from what i remember thats just my two cents
Hi Vicki, I had metal braces back in the 80's, long before I knew ATN even existed, so I can't comment on what it would be like to have braces and ATN at once. That said, I can tell you that, for me, having braces was torturous. Whenever I would have to go in to have them tightened, the process itself was pretty painful, but even worse were the days following, as my teeth moved into their new position. My mom would send me to school with jars of baby food, as chewing was so painful that it was impossible. I'm sure my classmates made fun of me for it, but my teeth hurt so much that I doubt I even noticed. The braces were a necessity, as two of my top front teeth were behind my bottom teeth when I would close my mouth.
With all of that in mind, teeth straightening has come a long way since then, so if you could benefit from having your teeth moved to a more optimal position, it might be worth it.
Thanks so much for your helpful comments everyone. You’ve definitely given me some things to think about! I see the dentist tomorrow to discuss it a little more. This is not a decision I want to make hastily.
Thanks again for taking the time to write. Hope this is a good day for each of you.
Hey Vicki, I just saw this post and wanted to add my 2 cents.
I also had braces, a few years, before I was officially diagnosed with TN. However, I had it at that time and just didn't know it! There were days that I would jut cry from the pain. I always thought, there is NO WAY young kids had braces and were in as much pain as I was! I'm not THAT big of a sissy! lol yet the pain would go away after a day and I continue on with my brace treatment. I'm am 100% sure that my TN is worse now. However, I know its just something that progresses over time.
Would I get braces today? I'm honestly, not sure. I can't even get myself to wear my retainer. One thing I would suggest is not to be over zellas about it. Take your time and go slow. You know your body best. Good luck!
