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Maintaining Your Invisalign

Jun 05, 2019

Beginning your orthodontic treatment can be an exciting time as you start your journey to achieving the smile you want! While good oral hygiene is essential to your orthodontic treatment with Invisalign, you will also have to clean your aligners each day to ensure they remain odor-free and clear.

Severns Dentistry & Orthodontics, your premier dentist in McMurray, has put together a few tips on how to properly maintain your aligners to keep them fresh and clear.

How to Care for Your Invisalign Aligners

Because the aligners are removable, it is essential to rinse off your aligners when you remove them from your mouth. The dry saliva and plaque from your teeth encourage the growth of bacteria that can cause your aligners to smell bad if they are not rinsed off.

When you are ready to put your aligners back in your mouth, it crucial to clean your teeth first. Your aligners fit tightly to your teeth, so if your teeth have food on them, it can become trapped between your aligners. This can increase your risk of dental issues such as cavities or tooth decay.

Other maintenance tips include:

  • Perform a daily deep-clean. Using products such as Invisalign Cleaning Crystals, or a denture cleaner, you should soak your aligners each day to sanitize them.
  • Brush your aligners. Use a soft toothbrush to gently brush your aligners to clean them. Take care not to scratch the plastic leaving visible marks.
  • Use an anti-bacterial soft soap. By using anti-bacterial soft soap, you can keep your aligners free of bacteria. This will also help them stay clear and smelling fresh.

What to Avoid for Invisalign Maintenance

In addition to what you should do when caring for your clear aligners, there are also some things that you should avoid while using Invisalign. To keep your aligners from smelling bad or getting stained, it is crucial to avoid eating or drinking anything but water while wearing your aligners. You also want to avoid using colored soap on your aligners, which can leave a tint of color.

Other things to avoid include:

  • Don’t forget your case. When you are not wearing your aligners, it is vital to put them back into their case. This can help keep them clean, while also keeping them safe from getting lost or damaged.
  • Don’t clean aligners with toothpaste. As we mentioned above, you should gently brush your aligners to clean them, but avoid using toothpaste. Toothpaste is too abrasive and can leave gouges in the plastic where bacteria can accumulate and can also make the aligners appear dull.

Invisalign Treatment in McMurray

With these tips, you can keep your aligners clean, clear, and smelling fresh. If you have any questions about how to maintain your aligners or would like to learn more about treatment with Invisalign, contact our McMurray office today!

Author: Natalie Severns, DMD

Upon graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Severns specialized in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. She then did an externship in London, England, at the prestigious Guy’s Hospital. At this hospital, she learned top therapies in Dentofacial Orthopedics to provide her patients with the best possible facial esthetics.



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