Oral Hygiene Tips to Follow During Your Invisalign Treatment

At Sunrise Dental, whenever we fit a patient with custom aligners for the first time, we always offer advice on proper care and Invisalign best practices. Good oral hygiene is more important than ever when you’re aligning your teeth. Knowing how to brush your teeth with Invisalign and how to clean and care for your aligners will help make your treatment more successful. 

How to Clean Invisalign Without Damaging It 

When you get right down to it, Invisalign aligners sit on your teeth and gums for the majority of the day. They come into contact with everything you eat and drink, as well as any bacteria or other microorganisms that enter your mouth on a daily basis. Just like bacteria and food particles cause a build-up of plaque on your teeth and gums, they can also build up on your aligners. 

To keep your aligners in great shape, clean them every day, and (if you can) after every meal. You should at least rinse your aligners every time you take them out to eat, drink, or brush your teeth. We highly recommend cleaning and soaking your aligners with Invisalign’s specially-formulated cleaning products. These products fully sterilize the aligners and ensure they remain crystal-clear so no one knows you’re wearing them.

To keep your Invisalign aligners in the best shape possible, do not: 

• Use any toothpaste or hard-bristled toothbrushes to clean your aligners—these abrasive tools can scratch and damage the aligner. 
• Clean them with denture cleaners. 
• Soak the aligners in mouthwash—the alcohol in mouthwash can be very damaging to Invisalign aligners.
• Put your aligners in the dishwasher.

If you decide to use a toothbrush to help keep your aligners clean, make sure it’s a very soft-bristled brush, and use it sparingly and gently. The toothbrush you use to brush your teeth every day will be too hard to use on your aligners. For that reason, use a separate soft brush—even a baby brush—for aligner cleaning only.

How to Teeth Clean With Invisalign 

Wondering how to brush teeth with Invisalign? The beautiful thing about Invisalign is that they do not require fixed wires on your teeth like traditional braces do. Invisalign aligners can be removed whenever it’s time to eat or clean your teeth, so you can brush and floss just like you did before you got your aligners. 

Invisalign best practices for oral hygiene: 

• Brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day—and preferably after every meal—just like normal. 
• There is no such thing as a safe mouthwash for Invisalign—make sure to remove your aligners before using mouthwash for extra-clean teeth and gums. 
• After eating, make sure to drink some water before replacing your aligners. Rinsing with water or drinking water will help remove food debris from your teeth and gums and keep your aligners clean.  

Free Invisalign Consultation in Glendale

Caring for your Invisalign aligners is easy! By following a few Invisalign best practices, keeping aligners clean and safe takes no more than a few minutes a day. Are you ready to join our hundreds of satisfied Invisalign patients? Call Sunrise Dental today at 623-487-4870 to schedule your free consultation. 

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