The holidays are just around the corner and celebration awaits. However, no matter how you choose to celebrate the holidays, you’ll need to keep your Invisalign aligners in place and taken care of. To help make sure your aligners don’t fail when you need them most, here are some easy tips to keep in mind.
Wear Your Aligners 20+ Hours Every Day
According to the experts at the American Dental Association, you should wear your Invisalign aligners between 20 and 22 hours every day. It can be easy to forget, but a failure to wear your aligners for the proper amount of time can set back your alignment and force you to undergo treatment for even longer. In some cases, it may lead to discomfort and even pain.
One easy way to avoid forgetting is to set alarms on your cell phone or other electronic device. Setting up several such reminders throughout the day ensure that even if you forget for a few hours, you will never go too long without your aligners.
Take Your Aligners With You
It may sound crazy, but it’s all too common for people to take out their aligners during a meal and then forget about them completely. If you’re eating at home, this may only be a minor inconvenience, but if it happens while you’re eating out, you could end up losing your aligners. Make a habit of placing them in a protective case whenever you’re not using them. Furthermore, if you can build a habit of putting your aligners in immediately after you finish eating, then you dramatically decrease the risk of forgetting them at a restaurant in the future.
Brush and Floss Every Time
Every single time you eat, you need to brush and floss if you want to remove the food particles that get wedged in between your teeth. If left alone, this debris can smell, grow bacteria, and ultimately contribute to tooth decay.
During the holidays, this can become particularly difficult to regulate given how much there is to eat and drink. Consequently, you should make sure you care around a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss whenever you don’t have easy access to your own bathroom. If possible, also carry some mouthwash so that you can really clean your mouth out before putting your aligners back in.
Take Your Aligners Out
For many types of food and drinks, you want to make sure your aligners are completely out before you partake. For hot beverages in particular, taking even a small sip may irreversibly damage your aligners and warp them out of shape. This can lead to them being uncomfortable, painful, and even useless in the best case or counterproductive and adjusting your teeth in the wrong direction in the worst case.
Therefore, you should make a habit of always removing your aligners before eating or drinking anything that might endanger your aligners. If you’re not sure, take them out just to be safe, but make sure you put them right back in after.
Enjoy Your Holidays
Have fun during your holidays, but make sure that it doesn’t come at the expense of your Invisalign aligners or your dental health. Build good habits and follow them. Give Herrmann Orthodontics a call today for a no-obligation teeth straightening appointment.