Your Invisalign aligner is your key to a new, more beautiful smile. If you wear it for the recommended 20-22 hours a day, you can get results comparable to braces without bulky wires and brackets.
However, for your aligners to properly help you, you need to protect them as much as possible. That means thinking carefully about how you’re cleaning your Invisalign trays so that they can last as long as possible. In that spirit, here are a few things you ought to avoid doing to your Invisalign aligner.
Avoid Hot Water
As you’re probably aware, it’s vitally important to clean your aligners just about any time you would take them off. Using boiling-hot water to disinfect your trays may sound like a good idea, but in actuality, you’ll do more harm than good this way.
Rinsing in hot water or running your trays through the dishwasher can cause them to warp, meaning that they’ll no longer fit properly over your teeth. Drinking hot coffee or tea while wearing your aligner can also cause this problem.
Use Dental Cleaners, Not Household Cleaners
There is a myriad of products available at any pharmacy that can help you clean your aligner. These products are specifically designed to erode stains, but not the plastic that your trays are made of.
Household cleaners, like bleach, are not designed for this purpose. By using them, you could potentially degrade the plastic on your aligner and cause them to wear out faster.
Don’t Leave Your Trays Out
You’d be surprised at how often Invisalign aligners need to be replaced because they’re accidentally thrown away without someone realizing it. Leaving your aligner out on a plate or wrapped in a napkin after you take them off makes it likely that you’ll put them in the trash when you finish your food.
For that reason, it’s usually recommended that you have a designated carrying case specifically for your aligners and that you put them in that case whenever you take out your trays.
While it’s a good idea to watch out for these common pitfalls, your aligners are also more powerful than they look. If you take care of them, they can make a massive change in your life for the better!
About Our Practice
At La Prada Family Dentistry of Garland, we want to ensure that your family has everything that it needs to have the highest quality of oral health possible. We believe the key to that is communicating well with our patients, so we’ll take the time to understand your unique needs and to keep you in the loop at every stage of your treatment.
If you have any questions about how to maintain your Invisalign aligners, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (214) 473-5696.
