5 Tips for Maintaining Your Invisalign

Invisalign has quickly become a highly popular orthodontic treatment for several reasons including its nearly invisible appearance on the teeth and the fact that treatment with Invisalign is a fairly low-maintenance option - especially, compared to traditional metal braces. To ensure you have a positive, healthy, and effective treatment experience and reap all of the benefits of Invisalign, it's important to remember to practice good oral hygiene with aligners and follow these aligner maintenance tips.

1. Keep Your Teeth Clean and Healthy

One of the biggest advantages of using the Invisalign system is the ease of maintaining good oral hygiene with aligners. You can use your same toothbrush and floss to care for your teeth after you remove the trays.  

Regularly brush and floss after eating to protect your teeth from cavities and remove any food or drink residue from your mouth that could stain the trays.  

Always check in with your dentist at regularly prescribed intervals to maintain your oral health and ensure that your teeth respond as expected to the Invisalign system.  

2. Know When to Remove Your Aligner Trays and When Not to

Don't leave your Invisalign trays in your mouth when you eat or drink. Doing so can cause stains on the trays. Even when you chew gum, take out the aligner trays when you do so.

If you smoke or use tobacco, do what you can to stop. However, if you can't stop smoking during your Invisalign treatment, remove your aligner trays when you do have a cigarette. The smoke will stain the trays.  

Do not remove your trays needlessly. Leave them in your mouth for at least 20 to 22 hours daily to get the best results. Also, removing and replacing the trays too much increases the chances of damage occurring to the trays.  

3. Say No to Stains and Odors in Your Aligner Trays

Good cleaning habits for your aligner trays prevents odors and ugly stains from developing. Keeping your trays clean couldn't be easier. The same oral health tools you use to care for your teeth can also clean your aligner trays.  

When you brush your teeth, leave your aligner trays in your mouth to brush the exterior of the trays with a small amount of toothpaste and a soft-bristled, slightly wetted toothbrush. After cleaning the exterior of the trays, remove them and brush their interiors with the toothbrush. Rinse off the aligners with cool water. Then brush and floss your teeth.  

Alternatively, you may soak the trays in a cleaning solution approved for use with Invisalign clear aligner trays. Depending on the design of your Invisalign trays, you might be able to use denture cleaner or mouthwash to soaked the trays. However, if your aligner trays have mandibular advancement features, do not soak them in mouthwash or denture cleaner. These cleaning solutions can damage the advancement features of the trays. Brush the interiors and exteriors with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste and rinse them thoroughly instead.  

When cleaning the trays, inspect them carefully for any cracks. Notify your Invisalign dentist if you spot any damage to your Invisalign trays.  

4. Handle Trays with Care  

Wash your hands before removing or replacing the aligner trays to keep them clean. Always replace the trays with both hands and remove them carefully to keep the trays intact and prevent damage.

If you have problems pulling the trays out with your fingers, ask your dentist about an aligner removal tool. Never use sharp or unapproved objects to take out your aligner trays. You could hurt yourself or damage the trays.  

5. Safely Store Your Trays

Invisalign care includes proper use and cleaning but also extends to storage. Correctly storing your trays keeps them clean and reduces the chances that you could lose one.  

Whenever you do not have your trays in your mouth, keep them in the storage container that you received with your Invisalign trays.  

Clean the case by handwashing it with soap, and never put the case or aligner trays in the dishwasher. The high temperatures could damage the materials.  

When you need to switch to the next set of aligner trays, keep your old set in a safe place. If one of the current trays needs replacement due to damage, you will still have one of the most recent trays to wear while you await a replacement. Wearing a more recent tray instead of skipping a week of using Invisalign retains your dental straightening progress.  

Get Invisalign Aligners and Care Tips from a Dentist Who Cares About You

Knowing how to maintain your Invisalign aligners is only the beginning. You need to have a dentist to assist you with teeth straightening tips and questions you have about using Invisalign.  

For a caring dentist in Murfreesboro, TN who will help you through the entire Invisalign process, contact us at Starbody Dental.

‍