If your kid has slightly crooked, shifted, or misaligned teeth but dislikes the idea of getting braces, your orthodontist in Pearl City may suggest Invisalign®. These clear aligners help shift your teeth without needing the troublesome care that braces require. With clear aligners, your child won’t have any food restrictions, and they can easily clean their teeth by removing the aligners.
However, this doesn’t mean Invisalign trays don’t require any care. Teaching your child to regularly clean their clear aligners is a must to ensure your investment lasts and to prevent dark spots from ruining their smile. Here’s everything you need to know about keeping clear aligners clean!
Why Must You Clean Your Invisalign Trays?
Invisalign is a convenient orthodontic method that can easily be removed, unlike braces. This enables kids to go on with their daily lives with no major changes in their routine. They can eat anything they like and maintain their oral hygiene. Because of this, it’s easy to believe that Invisalign trays don’t require any further care. One of the most crucial things to keep in mind regarding Invisalign aligners is that they require cleaning.
Even if the aligners are meant to be disposed of every couple of weeks, a few days of not cleaning them is enough for them to develop bacteria buildup. Besides, having a very smelly or dirty set of aligners to put on every day increases the risk of developing tooth decay and cavities.
Failing to clean your aligners can also make them stained or discolored, which could prevent your kid from using them confidently on a daily basis. This can seriously hamper the success of the treatment, as it depends significantly on using the trays on a regular basis.
The Dos and Don’ts When Cleaning Your Clear Aligners
To maintain a clean and bacteria-free environment in your child’s clear aligners, you should do more than just rinse them. Rinsing alone may remove visible food particles, but it won’t eliminate the unseen bacteria that can contribute to oral health issues.
To prevent that from happening, the basic cleansing process recommended by the Invisalign company itself is as follows:
- Rinse the aligners with water every night.
- To remove food particles or debris that have accumulated throughout the day, brush the aligners with a soft-bristled toothbrush (not the one used to brush your teeth daily) and mild, clear liquid soap.
- After brushing, give it a good rinse.
- When not in use, keep them safe and sound in a case.
Some choose to add specially designed products to ensure thorough cleaning. As a matter of fact, Invisalign offers “Steraligner,” a cleaning solution that contains natural antiseptic sodium bicarbonate and rubbing alcohol.
In addition, they sell “cleaning crystals,” which dissolve in water and can be used to soak your aligners. These crystals contain cleaning agents such as sodium sulfate.
Nevertheless, a study published in the journal Clinical, Cosmetic, and Investigational Dermatology compared the various approaches available by examining the pathogens left on invisible aligners that were replaced every two weeks for six weeks.
The study concluded that using effervescent tablets was the most effective method to clean the aligners, followed closely behind by brushing. Still, brushing was only slightly inferior to using tablets, so you can ensure the Invisalign trays remain spotless without needing to buy all these expensive products on top of it.
How Often Should You Clean Your Invisalign?
Ideally, you should teach your child to clean their Invisalign every night right after they brush and floss their teeth. This aids in eliminating any food particles, dirt, and bacteria they inadvertently gather throughout the day.
Also, tell them to rinse the aligners every time they take them off and whenever they seem noticeably dirty. This can happen if they drink a dark beverage that stains teeth, like tea, and forget to take them off.
Cleansers and Other Practices to Avoid
The saying “more is better” doesn’t always apply, especially when it comes to cleaning your delicate Invisalign trays. Although ensuring they’re free of bacteria is a must, overdoing it can damage the material, leaving small fissures where these microbes can accumulate even more easily.
Avoid thoughtfully cleaning your clear aligners more than once a day or using a hard-bristled toothbrush to scrub them. Additionally, avoid using certain cleaning solutions that are too harsh. Examples of these include:
- Denture cleaners;
- Mouthwashes that contain alcohol;
- Scented soaps, as they can leave a bitter taste in your mouth;
- Toothpastes that contain harsh chemicals like whitening paste.
You should also refrain from using cleansing soaps that have added dyes, like blue, red, or green soaps because they can easily stain the Invisalign trays. You wouldn’t want your kid to walk around for two weeks with a blue smile!
Invisalign Best Care Practices
Maintaining the cleanliness and bacterial-free condition of your child’s aligners can be achieved by adhering to certain best practices. Here are some examples:
- Take the aligners out anytime your child eats. Otherwise, food particles may accumulate inside them or cause damage that would render them ineffective.
- While wearing aligners, teach them to only sip water. Otherwise, they risk damaging or staining them.
- Avoid cleaning the trays with extremely hot water.
- When not in use, keep the aligners in an airtight container. This shields them from germs and lessens the possibility of their loss.
Following these procedures can ensure the aligners are kept clean and working at their best.
Learn More About Invisalign Care from an Orthodontist in Pearl City
Invisalign offers a unique opportunity for young patients who want to avoid braces. They’re easier to carry, don’t imply any dietary restrictions, and are considerably easier for a child to clean than a complex set of braces and wires.
But above all, they’re successful. As long as you follow these best care practices, they will be a great investment for your kid’s dental health. If you wish to learn more about clear aligners or the other services we offer here at Kidshine Pediatric Dental Group, give us a call!
*Invisalign®, the Invisalign logo, and iTero®, among others, are trademarks and/ or service marks of Align Technology, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies and may be registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.