Cleaning your Invisalign retainers is just as important as cleaning your teeth because both are subject to the eventual build-up of plaque and bacteria. Because your Invisalign braces have the potential to hold a lot of bacteria close to your teeth and they provide a warm and wet environment for them to grow, it’s important you stay on top of cleaning them for the best dental health. Here’s how to clean your Invisalign braces.

The basics of cleaning your Invisalign Braces

Generally, you should soak your Invisalign braces in a denture cleaner or Invisalign cleaning crystals. After this, scrub them with a soft-bristled toothbrush that you have set aside for your aligners. Do both of these steps once a day to remove any dry saliva, food debris, and any plaque deposits that may be developing. If you don’t, you could notice discolouration and a bad smell coming from your aligners. Because you need to clean them when you wake up in the morning, it might be a good idea to soak and brush them like this while you have your breakfast before putting them back in.

1. Morning care

Cleaning your Invisalign as soon as you wake up is essential. You should be wearing your aligners for 20-22 hours a day to maintain your treatment progression, which means wearing them at night while you sleep. Take them out in the morning, clean them and soak them as we already discussed, and make sure to also brush your teeth. Don’t put your aligners back in your mouth until you’ve had breakfast and cleaned your teeth afterward, because the aligners can hold food debris to your teeth and encourage bacteria to feast there.

2. Always remove your Invisalign retainers to eat

One of the most attractive aspects of Invisalign is being able to remove them to eat and for social occasions, so make sure you do this for meals and snacks. Your trays are not designed to withstand the pressures of chewing and biting, so they could crack or break with repeated impact. Also, the foods that stain your teeth will readily stain your Invisalign as well, so even drinking tea or coffee with your aligners in will increase the risk of them being stained.  You can drink water whilst wearing them, but for everything else you eat or drink you should remove them.

3. Rinse them regularly

Every time you remove your Invisalign, you need to remember to rinse them with clean and cold water before storing them away or putting them back in. This helps prevent saliva and food debris from drying and sticking to the plastic. If left unrinsed, this could cause cracking, breakages, and visible deposits building up.

4. Clean your teeth before wearing them

After removing your Invisalign retainers for snacks and meal times, always clean your teeth before you pop them back into your mouth. This helps prevent the amount of food debris that is still present when you place your Invisalign back in. Because our aligners are warm and wet, a breeding ground for bacteria, it’s important to minimise the number of nutrients available for these bacteria to consume and spread decay.

Book your treatment

If you’d like to find out more about Invisalign braces in Wolverhampton or more aftercare advice, contact our professionals at Claregate Dental today.