The #1 Rule for Invisalign Wearers

Wear your Invisalign aligners for 20 to 22 hours a day. Don’t eat or drink with Invisalign in your mouth. Clean your aligners and brush and floss your teeth too. It seems like there are rules galore when it comes to Invisalign treatment but, really, there is just one major rule that patients need to follow: Listen to the instructions of your Haymarket Invisalign provider.

The Path to Invisalign Success

There are certain things every Invisalign patient must do while wearing their aligners to keep their treatment on track, but all the ins and outs and dos and don’ts come directly from your Invisalign dentist, and she knows your teeth and orthodontic needs best.

Your Invisalign treatment is customized to your mouth, the position of your teeth now, and where your teeth need to move for complete alignment. This means that the length of your treatment, the number of aligners you must wear, and how long you wear each set of aligners is unique to you. If you don’t follow the rules your dentist has laid forth, you risk the success of your treatment.

Don’t Abuse the Privilege of Flexibility

Many patients choose Invisalign because they are attracted to the seeming flexibility of the treatment. After all, you can remove the aligners whenever you want and eat the same foods you always have. This freedom is something that wearers of conventional braces simply do not have – their brackets and wires are in place for the long haul, and that means plenty of restrictions about what they’re biting and chewing.

However, it’s tempting and easy to get lazy about wearing Invisalign when you have this kind of flexibility to remove the aligners at your leisure. But the bulk of your day, awake or asleep, is meant to have Invisalign in place. Near-constant wear of the aligners is critical for a good outcome. The less you wear your aligners, the longer your treatment will take.

Just because you can be flexible about where and when you take your aligners in and out, they still must go right back in your mouth after a meal or snack – your dentist told you so.

Keep Invisalign Clean

Most Invisalign patients are drawn to this type of orthodontic treatment because it’s discreet. No one will be able to tell you’re wearing Invisalign unless you tell them, and that is a priceless perk for many people. However, drinking with Invisalign in place can stain the aligners. Eating with the appliances in your mouth can stain or break Invisalign. Not cleaning the aligners regularly and as directed can turn them cloudy and gross. Break any of these rules, and people will easily see Invisalign on your teeth, and that defeats the purpose of getting clear orthodontics.

Neglecting to brush your teeth and aligners carefully after each snack and meal and before Invisalign is snugly popped back in place can also lead to caught food particles and bacteria, which puts you in danger of developing tooth decay.

Follow the Rules for Straight Teeth

The last thing you want to do, after you’ve invested in this tooth-alignment method, is mess it up because you aren’t following the rules. But the rules – the one rule – is simple: Listen to your dentist.

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Sina Reangber, Haymarket Invisalign provider, to find out whether you’re a good candidate for Invisalign or Invisalign Express.