If you wanted to have straight teeth back in the day, you were subject to a mouth full of metal, plus a retainer for the rest of your life. Thankfully, times have since changed! You can now have straight teeth in less time, without the fear of tearing up your lips, cheek, or tongue.
With InvisalignⓇ, you get straight teeth with much less discomfort or annoyances. For best results, however, you do have to take care of your aligners.
At Meadowbrook Dental Care in Mineola, New York, our team will not only create the trays for you, but they’ll ensure you know exactly how to care for them. Dr. Miguel A. Casañas Jr., Dr. Publio Silfa, and our experienced staff will take you through everything you need to know about taking care of your Invisalign trays.
Why choose Invisalign?
Because the aligners are clear, people can’t even tell you’re wearing something, which makes a huge difference. On top of that, Invisalign is much more comfortable than metal braces.
Dr. Casañas and Dr. Silfa use the advanced iTeroⓇ Element™ scanner to make a precise 3D model of your teeth and jaw, and the image is then connected directly to Invisalign. This makes for a faster delivery and a more accurate fit.
Remember that while straighter teeth may be your cosmetic goal — having a healthy bite is more important. Straight teeth means a healthier mouth with less chance of chipping, grinding, or breaking of your teeth.
Invisalign trays will gently and gradually shift your teeth into the right position, and they are good for fixing an under or overbite, crooked or crowded teeth, and for closing gaps between your teeth. Better yet, Invisalign treatment takes less time than traditional braces.
You’ll wear your trays 20-22 hours a day, and then after 1-2 weeks, you’ll swap them out for the next set. And you can always take the aligners out for special events or to take a little break, but remember that they only work when they are on your teeth. Remember to keep your trays safe in the case when they’re out of your mouth.
Tips for taking care of your invisalign trays
Some of the benefits of Invisalign trays are also what makes caring for them challenging. Being clear means the aligners can easily blend into a surface or floor if you drop them, so you really need to keep track of where they are at all times. The same goes for when you take them out to eat or drink.
Don’t leave your trays on the table at a restaurant or wrapped up in a napkin, where they can be accidentally cleared away and tossed in the garbage. No one wants to wade through a dirty trash can to find your aligners.
Here are some other tips:
Avoid soft drinks and certain foods when aligners are in
The liquids and certain ingredients like sugar and acid can not only damage the aligners, but also can get stuck in your teeth and damage them too.
Brush and floss more often
When you remove the aligners to brush and floss, you really want to make sure your mouth is clean before you replace the trays. If your mouth is dirty, the trays will just trap the debris on your teeth and gums.
Clean aligners thoroughly
Whenever you take them out, it’s a good excuse to rinse the trays, but don’t use water that’s too hot. You don’t want to melt your plastic aligners!
In the evening before bed, you can do a more thorough rinsing and actually brush your Invisalign trays. Use a soft toothbrush and a non-abrasive toothpaste to really clean both sides, and then rinse them well again.
Soak them
If you notice tartar or other build-up on the trays, you may need to soak them in a denture or Invisalign cleaning solution. This is good for the trays, but not so great for your mouth. So after soaking the trays, rinse them off thoroughly before putting them back on your teeth.
Meadowbrook Dental Care is here to give our Mineola, New York, patients a healthy smile and a healthy mouth with Invisalign trays. Call us or book an appointment on our website today to get started on improving your smile!