6 Tips for Keeping Invisalign Clean and Maintaining Oral Hygiene

Invisalign offers a more attractive and comfortable alternative to traditional braces. However, knowing how to keep Invisalign clean is still just as crucial. After all, what would be the good of straightening your teeth if your oral health suffered? At South Anchorage Dental Center, we provide Invisalign treatment and instructions on caring for your oral health. Here are six tips to help you clean your Invisalign and keep your mouth healthy.

Are you considering treatment with Invisalign? Set up a consultation with South Anchorage Dental Center today!

Oral Hygiene Is a Must!

Keeping your mouth clean and well-maintained is critical. Poor oral hygiene can create problems throughout your body, including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetic complications
• Dementia
• Pregnancy complications
• Respiratory infections
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• And more

When you take care of your mouth correctly, you reduce your risk of these medical issues. Beyond that, your breath smells fresher, and your teeth look cleaner. In the long run, taking care of your teeth and mouth allows you to avoid many dental problems that could eventually affect your diet or cause pain. Poor oral hygiene can also destroy your self-confidence. At SADC, we are here to answer questions, support you, and provide the dental services you need to stay healthy.

Challenges of Living with Invisalign

If you’re considering getting Invisalign, you need to understand the challenges you might face. While traditional braces and Invisalign both achieve the same goals, they both come with their own sets of pros and cons. Most of our patients like the idea of straightening their teeth without uncomfortable, painful, and embarrassing traditional braces.

Yet, there are a few minor challenges to wearing these clear aligners. Invisalign aligners are easy to wear. It’s unlikely anyone will know when you have them on, so you won’t have that constant reminder. What’s more, they’re incredibly comfortable. In fact, after you snap them into place, you may even forget you have them on. That’s why it’s essential to be mindful of your daily oral hygiene.

You might also find it difficult to wear the aligners the recommended 20-22 hours per day. If you often eat meals or drink coffee on the go, it can be difficult to keep your teeth and aligners gunk and odor free without easy access to your bathroom sink. However, if you use the following methods, you can clean the aligners quickly and get them back in to continue treatment.

How to Keep Invisalign Clean

Keeping your aligners clean is simple, but you need to pay attention to them and add a few more steps to your regular dental hygiene routine. Otherwise, your aligners will hold in bacteria, damaging your teeth and gums. Here are our six tips on how to keep Invisalign clean.

1. Know When to Clean Your Aligners

It would be best to clean your aligners at least twice daily. Doing this nightly after you brush and floss your teeth makes sense because that is when you’ll likely have the most accumulated food and bacteria on them. You’ll also want to clean them again during your morning oral hygiene routine. In addition, you can take them out and rinse them with warm but not hot water any time you notice something under or on them. Also, clean them whenever you are ready to store them, such as before participating in a sports event.

2. Clean with Invisalign Products

If you want Invisalign products, you can buy various cleaning products, including the Invisalign Cleaning System. You get a small tub and cleaning crystals that remove plaque from the aligners.

Here’s how to use the crystals:

1. Take out the aligners and rinse them in clear water.
2. Place them in the cleaning tub.
3. Add enough warm water to cover the aligners.
4. Pour in the cleaning crystals, gently shake the tub for about 20 seconds, and then let it stand for at least 15 minutes.
5. Shake the tub again, and then take out the aligners and rinse them.

Invisalign also makes a cleaning foam and a cleaning spray. While you don’t need to use Invisalign products to keep your aligners clean, these products are specially designed to help keep your trays as fresh and hygienic as possible.

3. Clean with a Toothbrush and Toothpaste

Suppose you don’t want to pay for special cleaning products or run out of them. In that case, you can use an ordinary toothbrush and toothpaste. Clean them as you would brush your teeth. However, it’s critical that you use a soft toothbrush and gentle toothpaste. Brush softly and gently. The trays can get scratched if you scrub them vigorously or with hard bristles or harsh toothpaste. Then, bacteria can get into the scratches, risking your oral health. You can also use a clear antibacterial soap or even denture tablets. However, be sure to avoid colored soaps or whitening toothpaste.

4. Get Rid of Cloudiness

Sometimes, clear aligners can become cloudy, especially towards the end of the two weeks you are wearing each tray. If this happens, you can make them appear clear again. Mix half hydrogen peroxide and half warm water in a small bowl. Soak the aligners for a couple of hours. Then rinse them and clean them as usual.

5. Keep Up Normal Dental Care

Of course, you’ll need to keep brushing and flossing your teeth as usual. We recommend that you brush and floss at least twice a day. Beyond that, it’s important to keep up with regular teeth cleanings. Your Invisalign treatment will take some time, so you will need to go to your teeth cleaning appointments as usual.

6. Take Out the Aligners Before Eating

The aligners are not designed to be worn while you eat. Eating not only allows food to get on and under the trays but can also damage the aligners. Taking out the aligners before you eat prevents problems, but it’s also important to avoid putting clean trays on dirty teeth. So, before putting them back in, at least rinse your mouth to eliminate any loose food particles.

SADC and Invisalign – A Winning Team

At SADC, we provide treatment with Invisalign and all the regular dental services you will continue to need during the process. We have seen clear aligners' benefits for our patients with misaligned teeth, and we’re excited to offer this service.

Our South Anchorage Dental Center team is always looking for ways to make dental care more accessible and affordable to people in our Alaska community. One of the options we offer is our SADC Dental Savings Plan, which reduces the cost of treatment for aligners and other dental procedures. We’re also in-network with many major dental insurers.

If you’re considering Invisalign, you’ll also want a friendly dentist who understands both the challenges and advantages of Invisalign treatment. We’re here to help and guide you to ensure you get the best results. At our clinic, we are happy to see many people gain confidence once they have completed Invisalign treatment. They’re happier with their appearance, both during and after treatment. Even better, when you take care of your oral hygiene, you stay healthier overall and see the real benefits of Invisalign.

Would you like to learn more about Invisalign before opting for treatment? Schedule an appointment with our professional dental team at SADC!