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Invisalign in St. Albans is a preferred orthodontic option for many patients who want a straighter smile, as the plastic aligner trays offer patients a higher level of comfort and convenience – two highly sought after plus points that cannot be said of traditional metal-based orthodontic devices. With Invisalign in St. Albans patients need not worry about drastically changing their diet or having to struggle with removing bits of food stuck in between metal brackets and wires, or needing to endure metal parts cutting into sensitive areas of the mouth. The trade-off for all these benefits is that a patient has to adhere to being committed and disciplined in the care of the aligners. This is an important point which we, at UK Dental Specialists, are at pains to impress on our patients.
Dos of wearing Invisalign in St. Albans
Aligner trays should be cleaned every day
The only sure way to keep aligner trays free of bacteria and germs and prevent them from beginning to smell is to clean them daily, as recommended by your supervising dental practitioner.
It is best to remove aligner trays before eating and drinking
Aligner trays are made from thermoplastic material that can be removed easily by the patient before meals. The repetitive chewing and biting of foods, whilst wearing the aligners, increases the chances of the trays being damaged in the process, or them staining, when the patient drinks beverages known to cause discolouration. Any damage caused to the aligner trays will necessitate them having to be replaced at added cost to the patient and will lengthen the duration of the treatment process as prescribed by us.
Always store aligner trays in their proper storage case
When not wearing aligners or after cleaning them, it is highly recommended that they are stored safely in the storage case, even when they need to dry out after rinsing.
Do wear them for the minimum time allowed
A non-negotiable with aligner use is that they have to be worn for a minimum of 22 hours a day and patients have to resist taking the trays out for anything other than eating, drinking and cleaning them.
Brush and floss teeth before reinserting aligner trays
After having eaten your meals, we recommend that patients brush and floss teeth to remove all food particles left behind before wearing the aligner trays again. Neglecting to do this important step will put not only your dental health at risk, but will jeopardise your teeth-straightening process too, as this is dependent on teeth and gums remaining in good condition.
Don’ts of Invisalign us
Avoid using harmful products to clean aligners
Ordinary dental products like toothpaste are not suitable for cleaning the Invisalign trays, as ingredients in such products can have an abrasive effect on the transparent plastic.
Don’t snack throughout the day
Snacking has to be kept to a minimum to avoid having to remove them each time. This would be impractical and time consuming, not to mention the patient running the risk of missing out of the recommended total hours of wearing the aligners.
For more dos and don’ts when it comes to wearing and taking care of Invisalign trays or for clarification on any of the above guidelines, please do not hesitate to consult one of our dental practitioners at UK Dental Specialists.