I agree, slight shifting is pretty common. My dentist mentioned that even subtle habits, like resting your chin on your hand or sleeping mostly on one side, can gradually nudge teeth out of alignment. I've heard clear aligners can help, but haven't tried them myself...
I totally get how frustrating that can be... I've always been pretty cautious about my teeth, but even then, I noticed some shifting over the years. My dentist said similar things—apparently, I grind my teeth at night without realizing it, and that's been nudging them out of place slowly. I tried clear aligners last year, and honestly, they weren't as uncomfortable as I'd feared. Took a bit of getting used to, but they did help ease my anxiety about things getting worse.
"apparently, I grind my teeth at night without realizing it, and that's been nudging them out of place slowly."
I had the exact same issue—didn't even realize I was grinding until my dentist pointed out the wear on my teeth. Honestly, I was skeptical about aligners at first, thought they'd be a hassle, but after a couple weeks, they felt pretty normal. Plus, knowing I was actively doing something about it really helped ease my mind. Definitely worth considering if it's bugging you that much...
I feel you on the grinding thing...my dentist mentioned it to me a while back too, and honestly, it freaked me out a bit. I kept imagining my teeth slowly shifting every night—talk about anxiety-inducing. 😅 Anyway, I ended up getting aligners, but I was pretty hesitant at first. Kept worrying they'd be uncomfortable or I'd forget to wear them enough to actually help. Turns out they're not as annoying as I thought they'd be. Took a few days to get used to, but now it's just part of my routine. Plus, weirdly enough, they kinda helped with the grinding too—guess having something in my mouth at night makes me less likely to clench? Not sure if that's just me though. Either way, if it's really bothering you, might be worth looking into. Just brace yourself for the first couple nights feeling a little awkward...after that, it's honestly not bad at all.
I had the same grinding issue and aligners helped me too. First few nights felt like sleeping with a mouthguard from my high school sports days...awkward flashbacks, lol. But yeah, after that, smooth sailing and less grinding overall. Worth it imo.
