If you've had braces before — perhaps in your childhood — you probably remember dentist appointments when you'd go in to have your braces tightened or adjusted. These adjustments were made to continue the straightening process and to ensure that you got the results you were looking for, but they can be uncomfortable. If you're considering getting Invisalign and are worried about revisiting that pain, here's what you can expect.

Standard Adjustments

When you wear normal metal braces, standard adjustments are made by adjusting the brackets and wires of your braces. The wire's tensile strength can be used to either encourage your teeth to spread out, come together, push forward, or pull backward. Your dentist carefully changes the wire to ensure that your teeth will move to the next stage of your realignment, but this process can leave you with sore teeth or even a painful jaw for a few hours after the adjustment.

Invisible Braces Adjustments

Invisible braces are a little bit different, but they follow the same general idea as traditional metal braces.

With invisible braces, you receive multiple pairs of braces to wear over the course of your treatment. When your dentist or you decide that your current pair of braces is fitting comfortably and doesn't seem to be moving any teeth anymore, you'll put that pair aside and move to the next one.

This next set of braces will feel a little snug at first when you put them on, but that's the limit of discomfort that you should feel. If you have any discomfort beyond that, you can take off the new pair and switch back to the one that was fitting perfectly until you can see your dentist.

Your Pace

The best part about invisible braces for reducing discomfort and pain is that you can take the process as slowly or quickly as you want. Traditional braces are often designed with a set date in mind for when the treatment will be complete, and if that's what you want, you can get a similar guarantee about your invisible braces. However, if you're more interested in making them as comfortable as possible, you can transition more slowly between stages or even ask your dentist to create more sets of braces so that each transition will be easier for you.

Invisible braces are a less uncomfortable alternative to standard metal braces. You shouldn't have to worry about going through the same discomfort you once did with traditional braces, so talk to an orthodontist or dentist about getting invisible braces right away.