Tips and tricks for successful treatment with Invisalign

Decades ago, the only way to get a beautiful, healthy smile was to wear metal braces. Now, you can have the smile you want with a more aesthetically pleasing, more comfortable, highly effective, almost invisible orthodontic treatment with Invisalign braces. If this is your first time using Invisalign, here are some tips and tricks to maximize your treatment with this teeth straightening system.

Wear your aligners as instructed by your orthodontist, usually 20-22 hours a day. We recommend that you only remove them when eating or brushing your teeth.

Change the aligners on time! We will provide you with a treatment plan according to which you will need to change your aligners. We recommend that you do not try to speed up your treatment by switching to the next set of aligners too soon, as this may eventually delay your overall treatment period.

Don't throw away your old aligners when it's time for the new set. Always keep the last set on hand, because in case you break or lose your aligners have a spare set while you wait for the replacement set.

Don't keep the aligners in a napkin or in your pocket without a box!

We recommend that you keep your Invisalign aligners in the box when you are not wearing them. This will protect them against loss, accidental discard and damage. Keep them out of reach of small children and pets. If you look at your box more often at home and to avoid being tempted to put in your napkins, we recommend having several boxes in different places (at home, at work, in your purse, etc.).

But... it's not necessary to remove your aligners when drinking water.

Brush and floss your teeth after every meal or snack before reinserting your aligners. If you don't have access to your cleaning kit or a toothbrush, you can simply rinse your mouth and then clean your aligners by holding them under a stream of warm water. It's not the best way to clean, but it works if absolutely necessary. Be sure to clean your aligners thoroughly as soon as possible. For more details on how to clean yourself while wearing Invisalign braces, see the article 'How to keep your Invisalign clean?'.

The aligners are easy to clean and care for with warm water and toothpaste or antibacterial soap. Water and toothpaste or antibacterial soap are usually sufficient to clean aligners, but you can also use special products to clean aligners. Do not use toothpaste containing abrasive substances, which could scratch the aligners. These scratches will detract from the clear appearance of your aligners and could create retentive areas for plaque deposits.

Although most people won't notice that you are wearing braces, some may notice a subtle change in the way you speak in the first few days after getting braces. Like all orthodontic treatments, aligners can temporarily affect your speech (a day or two).As your tongue gets used to the presence of aligners in your mouth, any change in speech due to Invisalign should disappear. The best thing you can do to speed up the adjustment process is to continue talking, reading aloud, talking on the phone with friends and playing your favorite songs in the car.

Ignore this tip if you don't feel sharp edges on the aligner. However, if somehow a lesion appears on the gum, tongue or cheeks due to the aligners, take a fine-grained nail file and smooth the edges.

Every patient with Invisalign treatment will receive a special tool from us to help you easily remove aligners. Of course if you feel the need to use another model you can purchase them on the internet under the name 'Clear Aligner tray removal tool'.