Worst tray you ever had?

I’ve been keeping track of my progress with photos (in and out of my trays) for every new tray, as well as writing a few sentences for each one on how it feels and the changes I notice. I always upload my progress photos and write about them on day 2 of a new tray so I’ve had a full day to decide how I feel. I’ve got a total of 17 trays for reference.

That being said, up until now this point I was sure tray #8 was the absolute worst it could get. Each one only made my teeth sore for the first day or two until number 8/17. I even would rant and rave about it to my friends and family, how that one tray was painful for almost full week. But trays 9, 10 and 11 were fine. They actually got more comfortable again as they went on. I barely felt a change with tray 11 at all.

Today I can say with full confidence, tray number 12 is the most painful tray by far. The way my bottom front teeth feel right now makes me wince every time I unclench my teeth. I realized while trying to get to sleep last night that if I kept my jaw fully clenched it would relieve some of the pressure on the bottom incisors, but only some.

What was the worst tray you had during your Invisalign treatment journey? What did you do to help the ache? For medical reasons I cannot take any pain medication of any kind. No Advil, no Tylenol, no opioids and no over-the-counters.