Orthodontics today offers options other than braces for aligning your teeth. One of these choices is using invisalign, which offers a clear option to fix your smile. However, invisalign will require attention and care. If you neglect cleaning your invisalign, it could lead to dental issues. Therefore, continue reading to learn the insight on how to clean your invisalign.
Do’s of Cleaning Invisalign
Your dentist will tell you how invisalign works to fix your smile. Cleaning your clear aligners can help you avoid bacteria buildup. However, there’s certain education that goes into maintaining your invisalign. Below, we’ve given a few tips on how to clean your invisalign:
1. Do Clean Your Invisalign & Teeth Every Morning
Wearing your invisalign all night might give access to bacteria buildup. Hence, it’s an important part of your oral hygiene to clean the invisalign tray in the mornings, along with your teeth.
2. Do Rinse Every Time After Removing
It is a given that you should clean your invisalign every night and morning. But, aside from that, you should not forget to rinse your clear aligners every time you remove them. This way, dried saliva, food particles, and plaque will wash away.
3. Do Remember to Soak the Invisalign Once a Day
Proper, regular maintenance is the key to keeping your aligners smelling fresh and looking their best. To do so, you can use denture cleaner or invisalign cleaning crystals. When it’s time to remove them from the solution, use an extra soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub them. Then, put the aligners back in your mouth after rinsing.
4. Do Brush & Floss Before Putting The Aligners
There will be no point in wearing or cleaning your invisalign if you don’t follow a proper oral hygiene routine. Before you put your invisalign tray, always brush and floss your teeth. Or else you’ll face additional dental issues due to the food particles trapped against your teeth.
Don’ts of Cleaning Invisalign
How to clean invisalign doesn’t only involve what to do, but also the things you should definitely avoid. Here are some things to avoid when cleaning your invisalign trays:
1. Don’t Let the Tray Sit Out in the Open
Be careful not to leave your aligners out in the open when you’re not using them. Hence, store them in their case when not in use. This is because leaving invisalign in the open air could expose them to bacteria buildup, which may damage your aligners more. Thus, take the case with you everywhere. And if you do accidentally leave the aligners out for a few hours, soak and rinse them before use.
2. Don’t Forget to Be Prepared for Long Trips
If going on long trips, you should not forget that you need new aligners every few weeks. Therefore, pack new aligners when going on trips in case you need a change. Or you could have new aligners shipped to where you’ll be going so your treatment goes undisturbed.
3. Don’t Eat or Drink When Wearing Invisalign
Apart from water, you should avoid having anything to eat or drink when you have an invisalign in your mouth. Take your aligners out before you eat or drink anything else. If you don’t do this, food particles might get stuck in the aligners. As a result, your aligners might become stained and damaged. Furthermore, invisalign is not made to support the pressure that comes with eating.
4. Don’t Use Colored or Scented Products to Clean the Aligners
Don’t use colored or scented toothpaste and soaps to clean your invisalign, as they can leave a residue. This could lead to discoloration and leave an unpleasant taste in your invisalign tray.
What’s Next?
Now that you have read what you should and shouldn’t do to clean invisalign. Consult your orthodontist on how to clean your invisalign properly. Our Gessner Smile Dentistry Team is always here for your aid. Contact us at (713) 858-8513. Or, you can visit 1507 Gessner Rd Suite A, Houston, TX 77080, on the right of Tom’s Hardware.