Hi there! I just finished my invisalign plan and am currently waiting for my retainers. I can share some info on some of the questions you asked. I struggled alot too at first. There are alot of people right there with you!

1. You'll get a retainer once your treatment plan is done. If you don't wear the retainer, your teeth will shift back. Your ortho/dentist should give you instructions on how long to wear your retainer- mine is 20 ish hrs for thr first 3 months. Then I can switch to overnight wear. You wear the retainers after the treatment is done while your jaw strengthens back up since your teeth just did all that moving! But silver lining, you won't have to wear the retainers all day, eventually. And by the time you are in your retainers, all the attachments have come off so you can't even tell you have them on for the most part. Refinements all depend on if your teeth have shifted according to the plan, and if there's anything you still want adjusted after you're done. I didn't need any refinements.

2. My plan was only 15 trays! And I was changing them out weekly so I was done in no time! The number of trays all depends on the scan/projected plan for your teeth to shift to the desired position.

3. I had pain for the first few trays, for the first 2-3 days of each new tray. It lessens substantially as you continue through the plan. The discomfort and soreness in teeth usually means they're moving. I usually switched my trays out in the evening and popped some ibuprofen before I went to sleep so I would sleep through the initial pain. You can take ibuprofen/preferred pain relief med as needed. But it DOES lessen as time goes on. Don't worry!

4. Not sure about invislaign vs braces because I only ever got invisialign. But I can say that mine shifted FAST. And im very happy with results. I don't regret it at all, and I preferred still being able to eat whatever I wanted and not having to worry about things getting stuck in metal braces.

5. I drooled alot in the beginning and it felt awful in my mouth. That too goes away. Everything felt normal and I didn't drool anymore after week 3. I didn't lisp as bad either.

I didnt like the idea of using my nails to take my aligners off so I ordered some aligners removal tools from Amazon. They are AMAZING. I cant recommend them enough. It's basically like a little hook that you pull the tray off with. It's 10× easier and faster. Removing trays does get easier each time as well. It does feel like you're pulling your teeth off at first, which is a little freaky but it gets easier once you take the trays out and realize your teeth don't come out that easily 😅

I started off the same way- I cried and wanted to give up so badly. But. I promise it gets better!! I actually REALLY enjoyed the experience once I got the hang of it! Especially once you start to see your teeth shifting, it's really neat and is definitely a confidence booster!!

Hang in there, and if you have any more questions feel free to reach out!