4 Tips for Taking Care of Your Aligners and Teeth during Invisalign in Melbourne

You’re finally straightening your teeth. With all its benefits, particularly the clear alignment trays, Invisalign in Melbourne was the obvious choice for you to maintain your appearance and confidence during treatment. But did you know that if you don’t use the proper care, those clear aligners can become cloudy or discolored? That defeats the purpose of choosing this subtle teeth-straightening option in the first place! Fortunately, if you follow these 4 tips, you can keep your aligners clean and practically invisible.

Wear Your Aligners Appropriately

In order to straighten your teeth, your alignment trays need to be in your mouth. For the best results, you should wear them for 20 to 22 hours every day. However, there are times when you should not wear your aligners—when eating or drinking anything other than water and when cleaning your teeth. The trays can easily become stained by the foods and drinks you consume and can trap food particles. Before you eat or drink, except water, remove your trays and store them in the case to prevent these consequences from happening.

Maintain Your Oral Hygiene Routine

During Invisalign treatment, it’s important to continue healthy oral habits. In fact, you need to increase the frequency of these habits throughout the day. In an enclosed environment with your aligners, trapped bacteria can have more direct access to your teeth and gums, potentially causing problems even more severe than cloudy aligners. To prevent these issues, you should brush and floss in the morning when you wake up, after every time you eat, and at night before you go to bed. Doing so will help keep plaque and food particles from accumulating both on your teeth and on the aligners. That way, your teeth and your aligners can remain clean and free from harmful bacteria.

In addition, if your treatment overlaps with when you should go in for your semiannual checkup and cleaning with your dentist in Melbourne, make sure you go. They can remove hardened plaque and give you clean bill of oral health.

Use the Right Cleaning Materials

It may be tempting to use your toothpaste or soap to clean your aligners. However, toothpaste may be too abrasive, scuffing up the surfaces of the trays and causing them to be more noticeable when you wear them. Also, soaps can leave residue behind and cause discoloration. Instead, when you brush your teeth in the morning, take a minute or two to gently brush your aligners as well using warm water. You should consider having a designated toothbrush just for your trays to help reduce the amount of bacteria they are exposed to.

Soak Your Aligners

In addition to brushing them early in the day, before you go to bed, you can let your alignment trays soak in denture cleaner or Invisalign cleaning crystals to remove any built-up plaque or bacteria. Afterward, rinse the aligners in warm water and gently brush them before putting them back in your mouth. Doing this on a regular, if not daily, basis keeps your aligners clean and free from bacteria.

You are dedicating time and money to straightening your smile, and that important investment is worth protecting. By taking these steps during your Invisalign treatment, you can ensure that your aligners remain unnoticeable, allowing you to enjoy all the advantages of this advanced treatment method. In no time, you’ll have the straight smile you’ve always wanted!

About the Practice

At Dental Excellence Melbourne, dental expertise and quality service are a family affair. Dr. Cedric Chenet has over 35 years of experience, and he is joined by his son, Dr. Derek Chenet, and daughter-in-law, Dr. Veronica Yu. Together, they provide personalized comprehensive dental care for patients of all ages. To schedule an appointment with them, you can call (321) 255-0199 or click here.