Invisalign braces is a popular teeth straightening system using clear plastic aligners instead of traditional metal braces with brackets and wires. Often patients can achieve the same results wearing these aligners as they would with fixed braces. Because the aligners are clear, they are unobtrusive and extremely discreet and are easy to remove.
If you are considering Invisalign treatment, you’ve probably wondered what it’s like living with Invisalign. The short answer is that Invisalign is very easy to live with and that treatment should have minimal impact on day-to-day life. Listed below are a few ways that you might imagine Invisalign would affect everyday life and what to expect during treatment.
Wearing Invisalign When You Have a Sports Mouthguard
While Invisalign aligners are made from tough plastic material, they are not designed to protect your teeth during sports and will not do double duty as a sports mouthguard. If you do play sports, make sure you remove your aligners before playing and use your normal sports mouthguard to protect your teeth. Wearing your sports mouthguard will protect your teeth and helps protect your aligners against damage too. Just be sure to replace your aligners immediately after you finish playing sports. Failing to wear your aligners for at least 22 hours a day can affect the time needed to complete your treatment and might affect the overall outcome of your treatment plan.
Invisalign and Food & Drink
One of the nice things about Invisalign aligners is that they will not affect your diet in any form whatsoever. It’s one of the reasons why Invisalign is so popular. With fixed braces, sticky, crunchy or very hard foods must all be avoided as these can break brackets or wires and can easily become stuck between them and are difficult to remove. Instead, with Invisalign aligners, you take them out any time you want to eat or drink, making sure you brush your teeth thoroughly before replacing them.
Invisalign and Playing Musical Instruments
Because Invisalign is a removable orthodontic system, it’s best to take out your aligners if they interfere with playing a brass or woodwind instrument. It’s absolutely fine to take them out, but make sure you replace them as soon as you stop playing.
Invisalign and Kissing
This is one of those questions that everybody wants to ask but maybe feels a bit embarrassed to do so. Because Invisalign aligners are virtually invisible, there’s a good chance your kissing partner will not notice you wear them. If they do ask about them, you can reassure them that it’s more comfortable and easier to kiss with aligners compared with conventional fixed braces. After all, people can wear fixed braces for several years at a time, and they certainly kiss during this period! Invisalign aligners are smooth and fit closely over your teeth so you need not fear they will become dislodged while you kiss. You might feel a bit nervous during your first few kisses, but you both will quickly become accustomed to kissing with aligners and shouldn’t even notice them. Although it may be tempting to remove your aligners whenever you kiss, it’s best not to do so as ideally, you want to keep them in for as long as possible each day, only removing them when absolutely needed.
Talking with Invisalign Aligners
When you wear any new dental appliance, it can change your speech slightly, and Invisalign is no different. Initially, during the first few days of treatment, you might notice your speech sounds slightly different as your tongue will need time to become used to the aligners. It is not uncommon to have a slight lisp during those first few days but that should quickly disappear as you get used to wearing them and you should be speaking normally again in no time at all.
Keeping Your Aligners Clean
While living with Invisalign, it’s critical to keep your aligners clean and fresh. To do this, you must make sure you keep your mouth clean. It’s best to brush and floss your teeth after every meal and snack because otherwise, plaque bacteria and food can build up over your teeth and will become trapped in the aligner trays. Because the aligners fit closely over your teeth, they will make sure any bacteria and food particles are close to your teeth and gum line where they can cause maximum damage. Regularly brushing and flossing will prevent this from happening. When you are out and about, be sure to have a travel toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste and some dental floss so you can freshen up wherever you are. If you like, you can also pack a small bottle of mouthwash to make sure your mouth is clean and fresh after eating and drinking.
Also, whenever you remove your aligners, it’s essential to clean them while they are out of the mouth. There are several ways you can do this as you can soak the aligner trays in clear mouthwash, or you can use a solution of one part water and one part hydrogen peroxide. Another option is to use a proprietary denture cleaner, or use a one part vinegar and one part water solution to soak the aligners. Invisalign also produces a special cleaning kit specifically for this purpose. The kit contains special cleaning crystals designed to remove plaque from your aligners in only 15 minutes. It’s important to do something and it doesn’t matter which method you choose as long as you do it regularly to prevent the aligner trays from discoloring, which would mean they become more visible over your teeth.
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Invisalign and Bad Breath
When you take care of your aligners correctly, they should not smell, so if they do develop a nasty odor, it means your oral hygiene routine needs some reviewing. You must either clean your teeth or your aligner trays more thoroughly or both. Excellent oral hygiene will eliminate the smell.
Invisalign treatment is highly effective, and most people find the aligners extremely comfortable to wear, more so than wearing fixed braces that must be tightened regularly. However, it’s normal to experience some level of discomfort and especially when you initially begin wearing them or when you start to wear a new set of aligners. Any discomfort is usually easily controllable with over-the-counter painkillers and should soon dissipate.
Do you have any questions about Invisalign clear braces in Brooklyn? Would you like to schedule an appointment with the expert Invisalign dentists? Please contact our office.