How to Clean Invisalign Aligners?

Aug 24, 2009 Week 2 Day 1 (Aligner 1)

I noticed that one of my front teeth is now less crooked. Am I having illusions? After all, I have only worn the aligners just for a week!

I find cleaning the aligners time consuming. I knew that there are cleaning crystals which you can get direct from Invisalign and some people on the Net also recommended using similar cleaning solutions for dentures.  I checked with Dr. E and she advised to just use the normal toothbrushes and tooth paste.

It was easy to clean them on the first few days, but as I wore them longer, there seemed to be a ‘film’ forming on the aligners. And it just takes a while to completely clean them, especially there are ‘groves’ inside the aligners. It’s like brushing 2 sets of teeth every time!

I read about a lady having her first cavity after she started Invisalign. She thinks that it is because the tooth was completely covered and there was no saliva to ‘rinse’ it. I’m not going to let that happen! I’m brushing!!

Tips #6: Brush your teeth diligently before you put back your aligners. (At the very least, brush and floss when you put back your aligners before going to bed and after breakfast.)

Update 2: Tips #6 has been superceded by Tips #10. Please see it at “Midway Invisalign Review and Updated Pictures!”

Update 1: I was advised that it is best to use ‘normal’ toothpaste as some ‘whitening’ tooth paste have little grains in them that might ‘scratch’ the plastic surface of the aligners, creating wonderland for germs.

Copyright 2009 by Farting Camel

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