Invisalign wearers must have their trays in their mouth for 20 to 22 hours a day, but there are no restrictions when it comes to eating. Crunchy, chewy, and sticky foods are all up for grabs if your tender, shifting teeth can handle them. However, if you want to keep your trays safe, strong, and in good condition, you must observe the following important food and beverage rules throughout your treatment.
1. Remove your trays before all meals and snacks.
This is the top rule of eating with Invisalign – the trays must be removed before all meals, snacks, and beverages other than water. If you don’t remove the trays, you run the risk of damaging them in multiple ways.
Biting and chewing use incredible force. Sit down to a meal with trays in place and you run the risk of cracking your aligners – something you definitely don’t want to happen as each set of trays is designed to move a certain few teeth at a time. Plus, if you eat with Invisalign in your mouth you could end up with food stuck in the aligners, which both looks and feels gross and can leave stains behind. Invisalign trays need to be removed when having any type of food and beverage.
2. Limit the all-day drink.
Do you rely on all-day coffee or soda? This practice is bad for your teeth in general, exposing your enamel to a constant bath in acids and sugars and increasing your chances of developing tooth decay. But now that you’re wearing Invisalign, it’s doubly problematic.
Your teeth are still at risk for cavities, plus your clear trays could quickly become discolored and begin to smell. The biggest draw of Invisalign is that it’s discreet and difficult to see. The last thing you want is to end up with cloudy, stained trays because of a coffee habit.
When your trays are in your mouth, stick to water only, and be sure to soak your trays daily for extra disinfecting. You only wear your sets of Invisalign trays for two weeks at a time, but there is a lot that can happen in those 14 days to damage the aligners or turn them unsightly.
3. Brush and floss after every meal.
Invisalign is designed to fit snugly against your teeth, and this close relationship means it’s easy for bacteria and food particles to get stuck between enamel and aligners. It’s incredibly important to brush and floss after every meal to ensure that everything unsavory is washed away before you bring your trays and teeth back together again. Your trays should always be resting on clean teeth. If you don’t have a toothbrush and floss handy, rinse your teeth with water at the very least to avoid trapping food particles or bacteria in between teeth and trays.
Contact us to find out if you’re a good candidate for Invisalign and to learn more about our Invisalign special offer. Premier Smile Center’s Dr. Charmaine Johnson is a certified Invisalign provider in Fort Lauderdale. Schedule your consultation with her and her team today.
