What Are the Best Ways to Prepare for Invisalign Treatment?

If you’re going to begin your Invisalign treatment soon, you have every reason to be excited. After all, you’ll be gradually straightening out your smile without wearing the obvious and irremovable metal parts and adhering to the often-frustrating dietary restrictions that come with traditional braces. While patients often report that Invisalign is more comfortable than conventional orthodontic methods, there are a few measures you can take to make the transition into the treatment easier. Here are a few ways to prepare for Invisalign so you can achieve more ideal results.

Get Into Your New Oral Hygiene Groove

While wearing Invisalign, it is crucial to thoroughly clean your teeth before you wear your aligners. If the teeth have lingering food debris or sugary residue on them, placing clear aligners can protect harmful oral bacteria from the mouth’s natural cleaning process, allowing them to multiply and cause dental stains or tooth decay uninterrupted. Developing cavities while wearing Invisalign can result in delays in your treatment.

To make this much less likely, it’s a great idea to get used to the Invisalign hygiene routine before you begin treatment. This means brushing and flossing your teeth after every meal. Developing these habits sooner can help you start your Invisalign treatment strong and keep your teeth healthy.

Reduce Your Snack Intake

Invisalign clear aligners must be worn for twenty to twenty-two hours every day to keep your treatment on track, and your teeth will slowly slide out of alignment as soon as you stop wearing them. These aligners are not designed to withstand the pressure of chewing and can provide shelter to harmful bacteria if the teeth are not kept clean, so it is important to abstain from eating or drinking anything but water while wearing them.

Your clear aligners should more or less only be removed for meals and oral hygiene. Since it’s best to wait at least thirty minutes after eating before cleaning your teeth, this does not leave a lot of room for snacking between meals. Cutting down on snacking before you begin treatment can help ease your transition once you start wearing your aligners.

Invisalign is an excellent way to straighten out a smile, but it requires discipline on the patient’s part. By getting into the right habits before you begin treatment, you can put yourself on the path toward the best possible results.

About the Author

Dr. Alex Naini earned her dental degree from the University of Maryland Dental School and completed her residency at the Metropolitan Hospital at New York Medical College. She is a Fellow with the University of Maryland and the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. Her office in Vienna, VA offers preventive, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as Invisalign clear aligners. For more tips on preparing for Invisalign, contact her office online or dial (703) 827-8282.