Cleaning Invisalign Aligners

I am happy to endure a lot in pursuit of my Hollywood smile, but one thing that I’m not prepared to suffer is bad breath. I have begged my friends to tell me if they smells even the slightest whiff, but honestly, I think they are too kind to bring it up. Kids, however, are another story and would gleefully revel in letting me know, so it’s them I am relying on as an early warning system.

My orthodontist’s suggestions for caring for your aligners involved cleaning them with a soft toothbrush and water (but no toothpaste) and I read somewhere to soak them daily in a solution of 1/10 parts bleach and water. However, I am squeamish about chemicals,  Not only that, I think the bleachy smell alone is enough to put me off- I don’t want to give myself excuses not to wear them.

 

Consequently, I have developed my own little cleaning system, and am happy to report that three weeks in, both sets of aligners have stayed crystal clear and odor free.

 

**PLEASE wash/sanitize your hands prior to putting them in your mouth- it's disgusting if youre not already doing that- reminder not every wash their hand when they leave the restroom. so unless you want to find out what poop & urine taste like.... WASH YOUR HANDS!!*** 

 

Firstly, and I think this is crucial, I don’t ever eat or drink anything except water while wearing my aligners. I am also absolutely fastidious about rinsing them under running water after I remove them from my mouth. Believe me, this is important -if you forget to do it by the time you come to reinsert them they are less than fragrant.

 

Secondly before I put them back in I do the full brush, floss, rinse routine, almost without exception. The only times I haven’t been able to do this because I have forgotten my toothbrush I have at least flushed my mouth thoroughly with water before putting them back in, and then taken them out and brushed as soon as I get the chance. I do notice when I do this that they have a very slight smell- personally, I don’t think it is ideal, even though an intern from my ortho’s office says she did that all the time.

 

Lastly, when I clean and floss for the last time at night I soak them in a denture bath(a small plastic tub) with water and a Polidenttablet. This gives them a slight pinky tinge, which rinses off under running water, but definitely makes them seem fresher. I should point out that Invisalign expressly recommend against this. I wouldn’t want to lead anyone astray…

                         FYI- MOUTHWASH WILL STAIN THEM OVER TIME

-♥Essie

-I'll post more as I learn more tips and trick of the trade

My invisalign Update: I'm currently one set away from being half way {Today's date: 7/19/11}

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