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Comment by Oarch | Hacker News Reader

Best of luck! I completed mine 2 years ago and have to say it was 100% worth the patience.

My SO is now using it. I’m waiting for her impressions to decide if I want to do so.

The dentist told me I’d only need it for like 3-4 months, minor corrections. But it seems like such a hassle. Always having to remove it before eating anywhere, no coffee, and gotta make sure I’d always travel with the next set of aligners etc.

Glad it worked well for you though!

I lost a few pounds doing it because snacking became so annoying. :)

I am nearing the end, depending on the refinements. The first two weeks I was regretting it, but adjusted quickly. Honestly for me the issue was more that I did not like the way my teeth feel with the trays out (and the rough field of the aligners on the teeth). The eating was not that big of a deal. I have a travel toothbrush and case I keep with me. It has been pretty easy.

Still looking forward to getting the stuff off my teeth.

I needed 15 trays so just 30 weeks. Not that bad.

Just do what I did: ignore your orthodontist and wear them only at night, smashing them into your mouth like some kind of idiotic brute. 4 years later, great teeth!

I'll admit that I wore them less than indicated (but always at night) and doesn't seem to make much of a difference?

You teeth are literally being pushed to a new position. So if you dont use the braces for the "minimum" duration, you teeth may not be in a place where they need to be for the second set of braces to start working. So your 2nd braces are going to be pushing more and that might cause damage to your teeth/gums. Think of it like trying to do splits. If you have never done them ever before and you try to do them on your first try, then you gonna break whatever you have down there. But if you keep at it then day by day you will notice progress. The braces are like that. Each one eases you into the next stage if that makes sense.

Because it’s annoying to remove and clean for eating each time, it will get to a point where coffee or the odd snack is not worth the hassle. Maybe once in the year process did I find it worth it to remove it to eat fourth time in a day. It’s a weird reorienting. Like jumping into a new energy level that is more taxing, but is in a minima such that you want to stay to 3 meals a day.

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