Caring for your Invisalign aligners

The daily routine

Take your aligners out to eat and to drink anything other than plain water. Rinse them under the tap as soon as they are out. Eat, then brush your teeth, or at the very least rinse your mouth well, before putting them back in. Nothing should be trapped between the aligner and your teeth; sugar and acid held against enamel for hours is how decay starts under aligners. Aim for twenty to twenty-two hours of wear a day; the aligners should be out for meals and cleaning, not for the afternoon.

Cleaning the aligners

Morning and night, brush the aligners gently inside and out with a soft toothbrush and a drop of clear, mild soap, then rinse. Lukewarm water only: hot water warps the plastic and ruins the fit. Avoid toothpaste, which is abrasive and leaves tiny scratches that cloud the aligner and hold stain, and avoid coloured mouthwash, which tints it. Once or twice a week, soak them for fifteen minutes in Invisalign cleaning crystals or a retainer-cleaning tablet to remove the film that brushing misses. Never use bleach, denture cleaner designed for metal, or the dishwasher.

Keeping them clear

Tea, coffee, red wine, curry and turmeric stain aligners quickly if they are worn while eating or drinking. Smoking and vaping yellow them. If an aligner does discolour, remember each one is only worn for one to two weeks, so the next one is a fresh start; the ones that matter most are your retainers, which you keep for a long time.

Looking after your teeth underneath

Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss daily, paying attention around any attachments, where plaque collects. Aligners hold saliva away from the teeth, so dry mouth and a slightly higher decay risk are real; drink plenty of water. Keep your routine check-ups and hygienist visits at Omnia Dental Spa during treatment.

The case

Aligners go in their case whenever they are out of your mouth. Aligners wrapped in a tissue are the ones that get thrown away with a lunch tray, chewed by the dog or crushed in a pocket. Keep the case in your bag, rinse it out weekly, and keep the previous aligner set as a spare until the next one has been worn a few days.

Lost or broken aligners

Tell us the same day. Depending on where you are in the plan, Louise will usually have you move to the next aligner a little early or go back to the previous one while a replacement is made. Do not go without; a few days with nothing in lets the teeth drift and the next aligner will not seat.

Chewies and seating

A new aligner should click fully down over the teeth with no gap at the edges. If one feels as though it is not seating, bite gently on the small foam chewies we give you for a few minutes several times a day; they help the aligner settle. Your weekly Dental Monitoring scan checks the fit, and Louise will tell you if an aligner needs a few more days before you move on.

Questions people ask

Can I use toothpaste on my aligners?

Best not. It is abrasive and scratches the plastic, which makes it cloudy. Mild soap and a soft brush are kinder.

Can I drink through a straw with aligners in?

Cold water, yes. Anything else will still get under the aligners and should wait until they are out.

How do I get rid of the smell?

Brush them morning and night and soak them weekly in cleaning crystals. Smell is bacteria in the film that brushing misses.

What if my aligner cracks?

Keep wearing it if it still seats, and tell us; a replacement can be made. If it will not seat, go back to the previous aligner and call.

Do I keep my old aligners?

Keep the most recent previous set as a backup until the current one has been worn a few days, then dispose of the older ones, or ask us about recycling them.