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Tips to help you manage Invisalign aligners
Do you want to wear invisible aligners, but aren’t sure if they are right for you?
At Elegance Dental, we can help assess your suitability for wearing Invisalign Hertfordshire, while ensuring that you get the best out of using this aligner to straighten your smile. Great!
Here, we provide tips on how to cope with wearing Invisalign Hertfordshire. So, read on and enjoy!
Drinks
With Invisalign Hertfordshire, we always advise that patients do not consume hot beverages or sugary beverages while wearing the aligners. This is to help keep them clean and of course, to prevent them from melting; they are made of plastic after all and can warp if exposed to extreme temperatures.
But it is perfectly fine to drink cool water while wearing these aligners.
Food
One of the best things about invisible aligners is that they are removable. And as such, you don’t need to alter what you eat when using them.
However, to promote good dental health and prevent damage to aligners, we will usually advise our patients to take them out when they are consuming food and to put them back in once they have finished. But we also advise carrying a toothbrush and toothpaste with you, so you can clean your teeth before you put the aligners back in. This will help reduce the plaque in your mouth and will prevent cavities and tooth decay, as the debris is not being pushed against your teeth by the aligners.
Dental wax is a must
Yes, invisible aligners are deemed to be more comfortable than fitted metal braces. However, what many patients do not consider is that these aligners are created using a 3D printer and as such, they are prone to having sharp edges around the sides.
When mixed with the soft tissues of the inner mouth and tongue, that can get uncomfortable very quickly. And so, we advise all of our patients to use dental wax to smooth down the rough edges of the aligners, to help them feel more comfortable in your mouth until the plastic naturally recedes.
Chewies
This brand of invisible aligner has also created a set of chewies, to help patients place them properly.
Thin silicone tubes, you may (or may not) need to chew on these when you switch between aligners. Statistically, this will occur every 2 weeks and when your new aligners are placed, they will feel tight. To help alleviate this and to ensure that the aligners are working properly, chewies are designed to give you a better fit and thus help your treatment stay on schedule.
Of course, if you are still finding that your aligners aren’t fitting properly, please come and see our team for an assessment.
Time
A key factor that is overlooked by many patients with this aligner is the length of time that they need to be worn for each day.
At Elegance Dental, we usually judge each case based on the clinical requirements of the patient, but for most of those who wear invisible aligners you will need to keep them in for around 20-22 hours per day.
Failure to do so may result in your realignment taking longer than anticipated, or may even result in your teeth reverting to their former positions.