10 Things to Know When Starting Invisalign
Hi! I’m, Dr. Peter Wong. I’m one of the dentists at Hidden Valley Smiles, and here are ten things you should know as you start your Invisalign journey.
1. Is Invisalign treatment painful?
Invisalign treatment is not painful. There will be moments when you feel certain pressures in some areas, and also when you change aligners you will feel pressure maybe in a different spot. In general, you’ll feel any pressure subside in two to three days at most. Also, it’s totally normal not to feel pressure at all
2. So how often should you be wearing your aligners?
For the most predictable and reliable results, you should be wearing your aligners 18-22 hours every day for 2 weeks each aligner
3. How to clean your aligners?
Remember to clean your aligners daily. You can brush your aligners with a toothbrush and some soapy water. Brush them before you put them back on. Another thing you could do is soak your aligners in a cup of water with a cleaning tablet.
4. So what are attachments and how do those work?
Attachments are little dimples that we bond to your teeth so that there is some added leverage to move your teeth. Your teeth are essentially flat surfaces and there are some movements like rotations and torques that can not be levered onto the tooth unless there’s a little dimple on there.
5. What is IPR and is it necessary for your Invisalign treatment?
IPR stands for interproximal reduction. It’s the process of polishing in between the teeth. So, that space is created to move the teeth in the desired direction
6. Is it necessary?
Not always, and when it’s done there’s always a specific reason, such as to eliminate black triangles.
7. Will your speech be affected?
Anytime you place anything new in your mouth your speech will be affected. The aligner is very thin and it molds very closely to your teeth. As your tongue adapts to this new position, any lisp will disappear
8. So can you drink tea or coffee with your aligners on?
So both coffee and tea will stain your aligners and your teeth, so its best to remove them before you drink anything. Also, lighter-colored teas with no added sugar at room temperature or cooler would be better. If you must, you can also use a straw. Remember to remove your aligners whenever you’re eating or drinking anything. However, you can always drink water
9. So what do I do if I mix and match my aligners?
Each aligner bag has on it your patient ID, as well as the number of your aligner. That top row indicates your patient ID number, and on the second row, you’ll see a U representing the upper tray or an L representing the lower tray, and also your aligner tray number. Just match those tray numbers to your aligner bag, and you’ll know which aligners those are.
10. How do you keep your aligners safe and what do you do if you lose your aligners?
So to keep them safe the number one thing you need to do is always keep your aligners in their case when you’re not wearing them. Number two, please do not wrap your aligners in a napkin. Someone else may think it’s garbage and throw it away. Thirdly, be careful around pets. Your aligners smell just like you and your pets love to chew them. So, every time you change to a new aligner, remember to keep your previous aligner. So, if you ever need to order a replacement aligner, you’ll be wearing your previous aligner while we wait for it to arrive
11. So what happens if you lose your aligners or there’s a break in your aligner?
Please call your HVS orthodontist immediately and notify them of the problem.
12. So, what happens after your Invisalign treatment?
At the end of your Invisalign treatment, you will be provided a set of retainers, and we recommend wearing your retainers nighttime for a lifetime.
To learn more about what happens after your Invisalign treatment has been completed please check out our Invisalign service page.
We hope that our article was helpful. Contact HVS today and before you know it, you’ll have that amazing smile! Read more about the differences between invisalign and braces!
Want to know more about how invisalign attachments are made? Read here!