How to Make Your Invisalign Treatment Easier

Patients already love Invisalign because it lets them access orthodontic treatments without anyone else having to know about it. If you really want to get the most out of your treatment, though, you need to know how to get the best results from the process. That means understanding what helps your overall oral hygiene and what will set you back in your progress.

Keep Your Teeth Healthy

The biggest risk when using aligner trays or braces is food getting trapped where bacteria can feast on it without disruption. For patients with braces, it’s around the brackets. For aligner system patients, it’s under the aligner, which is practically the entire surface of all your teeth. To make sure there’s nothing that can stimulate tooth decay when you slip the aligner in, make sure you brush, floss, and use mouthwash after eating and before putting it in.

Keep Your Aligners Clean

Your teeth aren’t the only place that bacteria can be trapped. Cleaning your aligner at the beginning and end of each day helps ensure there’s no buildup there, so you can be more confident in your process after meals.

Make Sure You Wear Them

The biggest obstacle to success with Invisalign is the lack of proper use. Trays need to be in your mouth 22 hours a day, which means they can be removed for meals, but meals need to be short to avoid a total of 2 hours or less of removal time each day. If this sounds like a challenge, there are options to help you manage:

  • Use a timer after removal
  • Request the teen format with the blue use indicator dot
  • Reduce from three meals each day to two larger ones
  • Cut out snacking

If you can manage to keep the aligners in all day every day, you’ll get through treatment faster and then you won’t have to worry so much about how long you spend at meals. If you want to learn more about orthodontic treatment with Invisalign, contact our office for an appointment with a dentist in Spokane, WA.

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