somniloquence

I had the little dimple things to hold my aligners; what you're describing sounds almost like the little hook they put on when I had to use a rubber band to shift just the one tooth.

That's neither here nor there. The important thing is that you're paying them a truckload of money and that means that they should do it right. If you can, I would make an appointment to have them fix the button/dimple things so that they aren't hurting you. Because it shouldn't be like that. I can't even imagine how the aligners would be fitting properly on something that protruding. (I didn't get buttons on my molars, either, the canines were as far back as they went. Maybe ask why so far back?)

The first couple of weeks are the hardest. The aligners will feel really intrusive for a while, and it takes a little while to find the trick of taking them off (I couldn't do it at all when they had me try the first time after putting them in). The technique I developed was (for the bottom) to slide my thumb along the outside of my teeth about midway to the back, use the edge of my nail to get just under the edge of the aligner and push up--it would actually make a popping noise when it released. Same thing with the tops, only using the forefinger. I don't know if that's a helpful description, but it could be something to try until you get the hook-thingie.