How to Care for Your Clear Aligners in Six Steps

Clear aligners are a remarkable piece of dental technology. Gone are the days when you had to put on those ugly, clunky metal braces to straighten your teeth. Clear aligners are a great alternative to traditional metal braces. They straighten crooked and misaligned teeth while being completely removable. Yes, you read that right; you can take off your clear aligners whenever you want to, especially when eating and drinking your favorite foods. Moreover, these clear aligners do not damage your self-confidence as they are aesthetically pleasing to look at and provide no reason for you to become too self-conscious.

In the current article, we will try to elaborate on how you can take care of your clear aligners using seven basic tips. So, without wasting any time, let’s get right into it.

Take Your Aligners Out While Eating and Drinking

The first and most important tip is to make sure you do not start eating and drinking while having your aligners in place. If you eat and drink with your aligners in place, there is a high chance that your aligners will be stained and discolored, making you self-conscious when you place them back in. Moreover, using your aligners to bite and chew can potentially damage them as well, which can have a negative effect on its efficacy. You can, however, consume water with your aligners in place without having to worry about anything.

Clean Your Aligners Regularly

It is important that you clean your aligners at least twice a day. Ideally, you should clean them once in the morning and once in the evening to ensure that the aligners remain in perfect shape. Amalgamate cleaning your aligners with your overall oral hygiene routine to make sure you don’t forget. Aligners should be cleaned with a soft brush and toothpaste to ensure that the anti-bacterial properties of the toothpaste adequately cleanse the aligners of any bacterial formations. Brushing your aligners with a soft brush should clear them if they are stained and discolored.

Keep Your Clear Aligners in their Case

Clear aligners are expensive dental devices and need to be taken care of. They can easily be lost, and it is time-taking and expensive to get new ones as soon as possible. Hence, it is recommended that you always store your aligners in their proper case and do not just leave them here and there, for there is a risk of losing them entirely. In our experience, many patients come in complaining that they have lost their Invisalign aligners because they forgot where they left them. Losing your aligners doesn’t only cost you money but, more importantly, disturbs your treatment of misaligned teeth.

Brush and Floss after Removing Clear Aligners

It is important that you regularly brush and floss your teeth after removing your aligners. It is necessary because you will still be eating using your teeth after removing the aligners. If there are food remnants between your teeth and you don’t clean them before putting your aligners back in, then they can have a damaging effect on your teeth. Brushing and flossing your teeth will ensure that plaque and food remnants are removed through the anti-bacterial action of toothpaste.

Don’t Use Abrasive Materials to Clean Aligners

We cannot stress this enough, but it is important that you do not use any abrasive materials to clean your aligners at any point. If you try to clean your aligners using abrasive surfaces, then it is highly likely that you will end up damaging your aligners which would impede your treatment. It is also recommended that you do not use mouth wash or soap to clean your aligners because your aligners might become dull and slightly lose their transparency.

Soak Aligners Daily

Aligners remain in place for most of the day and hence need to be soaked in lukewarm water with aligner cleaning crystals. After a long day, simply soak your aligners to clean them adequately to ensure that they remain clean, odorless, and most importantly, properly transparent. Once you are done soaking your aligners, simply clean them using a soft brush, and you are ready to use them without having to worry about anything.