This was another phrase searched for by one of our visitors. For the Invisalign users brushing those teeth all the time they eat can sometimes be a pain. Invisalign requires DISCIPLINE more than anything else from a patient. The Invisalign system brings something totally new to the orthodontics world: an easier treatment and some less pain. And still, Invisalign does come with a price: we need to be careful with our teeth and brush often.
When starting orthodontic treatment, one has to understand that the time of careless oral hygiene is over. In order for the teeth to not start new cavities, the brushing/flossing/mouthwash ritual has to be taken care of.
In my previous treatment (Damon braces), I didn’t have to watch my brushing that closely since I could wait for some minutes to brush after a meal. In the end, the braces were on. When it comes to Invisalign the most important aspect is WEARING THE ALIGNERS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
Some say over 22 hours a day, others claim than 20 are Ok too. The advice would be to have the trays in your mouth for as much as humanly possible. Again, from my experience: I eat something and then I go straight to the bathroom to brush. I have several “sets” of toothbrushes and paste: in my laptop’s case (for when I take it to the radio station), in my bag, in my smaller purse .. and I am considering having this in my car too so that the set is complete. I know it sounds crazy, but I do want to eat between my home meals too.
In some cases, I have to be away almost all day long. This would mean eating in the morning and in the evening. So I snack at work too. If I want to eat anything, I have to take my aligners off, eat, brush teeth, clean aligners and place them back. So that I can still wear them as much as possible.
This is pretty hard since most of the time I just feel like tasting something. I stopped drinking coke or I drink it only in my small “lunch breaks”. I don’t eat anything with my aligners on, I don’t drink anything but mineral water with the “braces” on my teeth. Some say mineral water is not that good either, but at least it doesn’t stain them (as soda would or anything else) and it doesn’t leave my mouth filled with all kinds of sugar and other “goodies’ that would “rot” till I brush again.
Getting back to the question at hand: If you don’t brush your teeth and wear your Invisalign … I think it would be “yucky”. Think about this: you ate something and you have some hours till you get back home to brush. You can’t leave your trays off for that long (remember you do have to wear the aligners as much as you can) so you’d have to put the plastic on the dirty teeth. Personally I would either not eat or go fast and get myself the toothbrush and toothpaste (most cases this happened to me too, this led to me having 4-5 sets in all possible locations).
When you go from home, just check again if you have these too. You do change an aligner after 2 weeks, so it’s not the end of the world, but still, it would be a good idea to not get to placing Invisalign aligners over not brushed teeth. Have you ever done this? How was it?