How to Get The Most Out of Your Invisalign Treatment

How to optimize your Invisalign treatment

Invisalign aligners are an excellent orthodontic treatment to re-align the teeth.  During your first consultation, your orthodontist will examine your teeth and help you decide which treatment plan is best for you. If you are suitable for Invisalign London, your dentist will guide you throughout your treatment and give you instructions to enable the treatment to go as planned. 

Be sure to follow any instructions your orthodontist gives you to avoid an extended treatment time or even wasting your efforts. You may also follow these tips to maximize your Invisalign treatment and get a perfect smile. 

• Keep track of your Invisalign schedule

Your Invisalign trays ought to be changed every two weeks. Ensure you change your aligners every two weeks or according to your orthodontist’s recommendation. If you do not change your Invisalign trays on time, it could delay your treatment, so write out your Invisalign schedule on your planner or set a reminder to help you know the day to switch to your new set of aligners. 

You can also take advantage of mobile apps that are designed specifically for Invisalign users to set your reminders. Whatever method you decide, ensure that you are comfortable with it and it suits you. Try not to miss your follow-up appointments with your orthodontist. During your follow-up appointments, your orthodontist will check the progress of your treatment and make changes to your treatment plan if necessary.

• Start your new aligners at night

When you begin to use a new set of aligners, you may feel some pain and discomfort due to the pressure that the aligners exert on your teeth. The pressure from the aligners will help move your teeth, and the pain you feel is an indication that the aligners are working, but you may want to minimize the pain. 

To minimize the pain from wearing a new set of aligners, you should put in the aligners before you go to bed at night. With this, you get to sleep for the first few hours when the pain will be more. Your teeth may feel sore when you wake up, but you can take over-the-counter pain medication to reduce the pain and discomfort. 

You will feel relieved from the pain after a few days. Your Invisalign treatment may not be comfortable, but your time using Invisalign would be worth it.

• Wear your aligners for 22 hours daily 

For your Invisalign aligners to move your teeth as they should, you have to wear them for the recommended number of hours. You can take out your aligners to eat and clean your teeth or for special occasions, but whatever you do, keep the aligners on for at least 22 hours daily. Leaving your aligners out for a long time may extend your treatment time.

When you wear your aligners for a longer period, you reduce your treatment time. You can time yourself with a stopwatch whenever you take out your aligners to avoid exceeding the two hours set time. 

You do not have to remove your aligners because you are worried about people noticing your aligners on special occasions since the aligners are clear and fit the teeth perfectly. Lisping may also make you want to take out your aligners often, but this will go away as you wear the aligners longer and get used to them.

• Monitor your diet

You have only about two hours to take out your aligners to eat in a day, so you may have to avoid snacking between meals which may lead to weight loss. To eat anything, you have to remove your aligners, and after eating, you have to brush your mouth before putting back your aligners. For most people, this may be stressful, so they avoid eating most times, and some people also take advantage of their Invisalign treatment to lose weight. 

However, if you have a healthy weight or underweight, you may want to eat well whenever you take out your aligners. You may have to eat food that contains more calories or drink protein shakes more often. A nutritionist may help you plan your meals properly. 

• Have your retainer case at all times

Whenever you take out your aligners, you should keep them in retainer cases. If you wrap your aligners in a napkin, they may be easily damaged or lost. A retainer case will ensure your aligners are safe and easy to find when you want to put them into your mouth. 

It is better to get more than one case. You can keep one at home and another at your workplace to ensure that you have one at all times in places where you may decide to take your aligners out. 

• Always keep your backup aligners

You have to wear your aligners always to avoid relapse during your treatment. After you change your aligners to a new set, do not dispose of the previous one. If your new aligners get damaged or lost, you can use the previous one while you wait for your replacement aligners which would take a week to be ready. 

A problem with your aligners could delay your treatment by a week or two, but without your previous aligners, it could be worse. When you receive your new set of aligners, you have to restart the treatment time for that set of aligners. 

• Keep your aligners clean

If you do not clean your aligners correctly or you take food and beverages that can easily stain the aligner, your aligners would become cloudy and have an odor. The aligners may begin to feel sticky in your mouth. 

To clean your aligners, use the Invisalign aligner cleaning system which takes about 15 minutes. The cleaning system uses a special cleaning crystal to remove plaques on the aligners. You can also use antibacterial soap and warm water to clean the aligners. Ensure that the water is not hot because the aligners can melt under high temperatures. 

You can also clean your aligners with toothpaste but make sure the toothpaste does not contain abrasives that can damage the aligners. Abrasive toothpaste can create pockets that can store and breed bacteria.

Smoking can stain your aligners, so avoid smoking with your aligners. You can only take water when your aligners are in your mouth. Do not take hot drinks like coffee or tea because they can damage the aligners. They also increase the risk of cavities. Chewing gums with your aligners on can also damage your aligners. 

• Keep your teeth clean 

During your Invisalign treatment, practice proper dental hygiene. If your teeth are not clean, you increase your risk of cavities. Your tongue may not be able to remove food, plaque, and bacteria from your teeth since the aligners will be tightly fitted on your teeth. 

Brush your teeth then floss after every meal and pay particular attention to your teeth when you take food that can stain your teeth like berries because the stains can also affect your aligners when you put them back on. 

• Use whitening toothpaste

You can whiten your teeth during your Invisalign treatment. Since your Invisalign aligners fit tightly on your teeth, they can hold the remnants of the whitening toothpaste and prevent your saliva from washing away the toothpaste.

With other orthodontic treatments like braces, you have to wait until after your treatment to whiten your teeth.

• Use a retainer after your treatment

To maintain the new position of your teeth, you need to wear a retainer. Your orthodontist may recommend a Vivera retainer or the last set of your aligners. Your orthodontist will also recommend other ways to ensure your smile remains perfect after your treatment. 

If you are yet to start your Invisalign treatment, contact London Braces on 020 37457520 to book an appointment today. 

 

Author Bio :
Cindy Invisalyn is an marketing manager of Invisalign dentist in London and a dental blogger. She is associated with the London Braces for long and writes interesting blogs for it in her leisure time. She is quite passionate in letting people know more about Invisalign treatments in London through her intriguing posts.