Braces that don’t look and feel like braces?
Aligners that improve the shape of your teeth progressively every day but aren’t an encumbrance to eating or sleeping?
If you grew up in the 70s or even 80s, you may be wishing you had the option of investing in Invisaligns, rather than dealing with clunky and awkward metal wiring around your teeth. Barring a severe malocclusion, a badly aligned bite, or a major gap in the back of your teeth, Invisalign clear aligners are a convenient and frankly life-changing way to correctly realign, straighten and correct the teeth.
As a custom-made and custom-fitted set of ‘trays’ or ‘aligners’, Invisalign provides patients with the orthodontic treatment of aligning, moving and shaping teeth for a beautiful smile, without traditional metal and wire braces. The aligners are usually generated by a computer, from a mould or an impression of the patient’s teeth. This makes every Invisalign aligner ‘tray’ a fitting that is unique to each patient.
One of their biggest advantages is that they’re removable — however, this also makes them prone to misplacement and issues with cleaning.
So in this guide, we’ll give you clear and actionable tips to care for your Invisalign trays, how to travel with them, how long to keep them in and what your everyday life will look and feel like when you’re using your Invisalign trays to their optimal functions.
Everyday Care of Your Invisalign
Everyday care of your Invisalign trays should be a process or a routine that you follow in order to make it a habit every night or each time you take them out:
- Begin by taking your aligners out of your mouth and rinse the trays thoroughly under running water to wash away bacteria and food particles.
- Use specialised cleaning crystals to soak your aligners once they have been removed for a period of time; you can also use clear, anti-bacterial soft soap in order to keep your aligners free of build-up.
- While they’re soaking, your teeth should take focus: Brush and floss as you would regularly to avoid the build-up of plaque and bacteria from constant use of the aligners.
- And, finally, brush your Invisalign aligner trays gently every time you take them out or put them back in
For best results, here’s what you should avoid, in general, when using or wearing Invisalign aligners:
- Avoid drinking or eating foods that can easily stain your aligners; instead, stick to water when you’re wearing your aligners. At the same time, don’t stop living your life and eating the foods that you enjoy!
- Don’t bother using toothpaste — it can wear down on your aligners. Instead, just brush gently without it.
- Don’t use scented or coloured soap — it’s not just harmful to the inside of your mouth, it can stain your aligner trays
Traveling with Your Invisalign Trays
The convenience factor of Invisalign versus braces goes far beyond just aesthetic considerations. The very fact that you can take them off makes Invisalign the ideal candidate for those on-the-go.
However, when travelling, it can be really easy to misplace your trays, break them or perhaps even forget them in a hotel room somewhere. When travelling, take care of your teeth by:
- Keeping at least three pairs of aligner trays with you when you travel — current, previous and next set.
- Keep an extra case as a backup for longer-term travel
- If you can’t always perform the routine of brushing every time you take them out or put them back in, no worries. However, at least try to rinse out your mouth and aligners before putting them back in. Then, plan and remember to brush when you have access to a private bathroom again.
Wearing Your Invisalign Aligners
While your life is significantly improved because you don’t have to bother constantly trying to brush around wires and metal on your teeth, you’ll still need to follow a routine for the best (and correct!) use of your Invisalign trays.
Follow your dentist or orthodontist’s prescription but, in general, you’ll be wearing each set of aligners for one to two weeks. Regularly-scheduled check-ups occur every six to eight weeks to check on your alignment’s progress and pick up your next batch.
Aim to wear your clear aligners for 20 to 22 hours a day before taking them out for best results and note that it’s totally normal to feel a little extra pressure on your teeth as you get used to wearing them for so long.
By far, some of the best results our patients have experienced in correcting bites and realigning their teeth have been because of their choice to go with Invisalign. Many of our clients are drawn to the solution because of aesthetic purposes but find that their entire quality of life is enhanced due to Invisalign — why? Precisely because Invisalign, unlike other options, is designed to integrate with your life, rather than interrupt it. Contact our team of dental professionals today at Hawthorn East Dental and find out whether you’re a candidate for this highly convenient dental procedure in Melbourne.
