If you have started the Invisalign treatment, there are some things you need to do to protect them and make the most out of the experience. According to Invisalign.com, over 14 million people have experienced Invisalign treatments. There is some care and responsibility that you'll have to do on your part to ensure you take care of your investment. You'll also have the best smile once this is over.
Clean Your Aligners
One of the most important things you can do is clean your aligners. According to Crowd Spring, 46% of consumers will pay more for trusted brands such as Invisalign. They spend a lot of time on your teeth and have exposure to a lot of bacteria. You'll want to make sure that you keep these aligners clean and ready to go when you need them. If they aren't cleaned regularly, then they will start to break down and stop working properly. You may even need to have them replaced.
Wear Them The Full Time
If you are instructed to wear them for 20 hours, 22 hours, or any other time frame, then make sure they're in for that time. There will be some pain and discomfort when you're getting used to them, but you won't be able to adjust to this if you don't wear the aligners. Over time, you'll get used to how they feel and it will be easy to wear them but you can freely express your discomfort to your doctor. According to NCSBN, there are two things nurses and other medical professionals can't post on social media: information and images/videos about a patient or information gained in the nurse/patient relationship.
Keep Up With Visits
If you have a visit with your orthodontist, make sure you keep that appointment so they can see what's going on with your teeth and aligners. If there are any issues, they need to find them sooner rather than later. You don't want to be wearing them and them not working properly. This could prolong how long you have to wear them over time.
Floss And Brush Regularly
Even though you've had aligners on all day, it's still important that you brush and floss regularly. You should do this right after eating, and make sure that you're getting the area clean. If your teeth aren't clean and they are in the aligners, this could be bad for the condition of your teeth over time. You may develop more issues that are damaging to your health and your wallet because you didn't properly clean.
Protect Aligners During Storage
When it comes to storing the aligners during the time you aren't wearing them, make sure they are in the proper case that you were given for them. This keeps them in the same place and keeps them from getting damaged while they're out of your mouth. If you leave them out at home, they could be accidentally tossed in the trash, picked up by a pet, or damaged another way. No matter what, you'll have to replace them at that point.
Don't Eat With Them
When it's time to eat, make sure you take your aligners out of your mouth. You can't properly eat and bite down on food with these in, or it will damage your teeth and the aligner. Make sure you're taking it out and putting it up in its case until you can rinse your mouth out after eating and clean your teeth. After your mouth is cleaned out from eating, you can put them back in.
If you have Invisalign, this can be a good treatment if you know how to take care of them. Make sure you're protecting your mouth and the aligners while you have them. Following these tips will help you get the most out of the experience.
