A Few Things You’ll Want To Know About Wearing Invisible Aligners

If you'd like to improve the appearance or spacing of your teeth, you might wonder if it's a good idea to wear braces as an adult. The idea of a mouth full of metal may not be too appealing when you are in the workforce or dating. Invisible aligners might be a better choice, although they aren't suitable for all types of dental problems. Here are some things you should know about wearing clear aligner trays.

You Need To Wear Them All Day And Night

One of the most appealing things about invisible aligners is that you can take them out to eat and brush your teeth. You can even remove them for short important occasions. However, that doesn't mean you can take out the aligners frequently for extended periods such as when you go to work or go out on a date. If you take them out too often, the aligners won't be able to move your teeth as your dentist has planned out. Instead, you should plan on wearing the aligners all day and all night except for very brief periods when you eat and brush your teeth.

You'll Probably Still Need Frequent Dental Visits

When you get aligner trays, your dentist uses software to plan how the trays will change your teeth in the coming months. When you have metal braces, you go to the dentist to have the bands adjusted regularly. When you wear aligners, you go to the dentist to get new trays. Instead of adjusting the aligners, you throw out your old ones and put in new trays. The length of your treatment could be comparable to how long you would have to wear metal braces. It depends on what type of work the aligners need to do to achieve your new look and tooth spacing.

It Takes Time For Aligners To Feel Comfortable

It takes a while to get used to wearing aligners. The aligners might affect your speech or make it difficult to sleep. You might feel a little discomfort until you get used to wearing the trays, and you'll probably have to make lifestyle modifications. Most of these problems will resolve within several days once you've become accustomed to wearing the aligners. Talk frequently during the first few days so you can improve your speech with the aligners in. You might try using ice cubes on your gums if they develop soreness.

You may need to alter your diet to avoid hard foods that hurt your gums when you take the aligners out. You should always remove the aligners when you eat or chew gum. You may need to cut back on the amount of gum you chew and switch to drinking only water so no juice or tea stains the aligners or gets trapped under them and stains your teeth. If you have trouble getting used to wearing your invisible aligners, be sure to let your dentist know.


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