Are you about to start your Invisalign treatment and aren't sure what foods you will need to avoid? You aren't alone! A question we are commonly asked is about the food that should be avoided with Invisalign and the best way to eat during the treatment. To ensure that you can enjoy the foods you love and achieve your dream smile, we have created our handy guide that walks you through the foods that should be avoided and the best way to eat with your aligners.
You don't need to cut any food entirely out of your diet while you are undergoing Invisalign treatment, but there are a few foods and drinks that you should avoid consuming in large quantities to maintain a healthy smile.
Hard and crunchy foods like nuts, raw carrots, and hard-shelled bread can still be eaten, but you need to take care. These foods can cause your aligners to chip and break, meaning they will need to be replaced before you can proceed with your treatment. You can still enjoy them but in moderation. Switching to softer bread, cooked vegetables, and fruits will reduce the chance of any damage and still allow you to enjoy your favourite foods.
Sticky foods like sweets can also disrupt the teeth-straightening process. Sticky sweets can get stuck to your aligners or between your teeth, causing a buildup of bacteria, tartar, and plaque. To avoid this and satisfy your sweet tooth, try a soft cookie, marshmallows, or cake instead.
Alcoholic drinks should be consumed in moderation when you have clear braces. Red wines can stain your aligners, and carbonated drinks usually contain a lot of sugar, making your aligners sticky and uncomfortable to wear. The acidity in alcoholic drinks is also bad for your dental health as they erode tooth enamel, contributing to decay.
Tea and coffee are well known for staining teeth, causing them to turn yellow. This also applies to clear braces, and drinking tea and coffee can stain your aligners, making your teeth appear more yellow than they are. Drinking hot drinks while you are wearing your aligners should also be avoided as this can warp the plastic, meaning they will not properly align with your teeth. You will need to get replacement aligners when this happens to ensure that your treatment continues.
To ensure that you can stay hydrated and continue to eat while you are using Invisalign, we've outlined our top tips for helping you eat and drink successfully. We recommend following these tips to prevent damage to your aligners and your teeth, helping your treatment progress as normal.
When wearing your aligners, you should only drink cold or room-temperature water. Hot water can change the shape or melt your aligners, even while you are wearing them! Water is also clear and does not pose the risk of staining your aligners.
When you drink other drinks like sparkling water or soft drinks, you should remove your aligners before drinking them.
Whenever you are eating, your aligners will need to be removed to protect them and allow you to eat as normal. The aligners must be returned to their case to ensure that you do not lose them. Replacing lost aligners can be very expensive, and your teeth can start to move in the time it takes to get a replacement. Placing your aligners in their tray ensures you always know where they are and prevents any debris or bacteria from getting on them.
Every time you eat, you must brush your teeth afterwards to ensure good oral health. Everyone will have small food particles between their teeth and gums after eating, which is usually removed by saliva or when you brush and floss your teeth. However, when you put your aligners back in, the food becomes trapped, and bacteria can grow around your teeth. Your saliva has no way to get to the food particles either, meaning the bacteria will continue to grow until you have the chance to brush your teeth.
Brushing after eating will help to avoid this, but in situations where you are unable to brush your teeth after eating, you can rinse your mouth with water to remove the food particles.
As you remove Invisalign before eating, you don't need to worry too much about making changes to your diet. However, we recommend reducing how often you eat hard and crunchy foods, along with sticky foods, as these can impact your teeth and the aligners.
It is important that you clean your aligners regularly to ensure there is no bacteria that could build up and cause issues. Your aligners should be cleaned using a soft toothbrush and water instead of toothpaste. Toothpaste is too abrasive for your aligners and could damage them. You should also soak your aligners every day in a denture cleaning or aligner cleaning kit.
Throughout your treatment, you should see a dentist regularly to check your oral health and have regular teeth cleanings. During your Invisalign treatment, we recommend appointments every six weeks or so where we can carry out routine dental work and assess the progress of your treatment.
While wearing your Invisalign, you should avoid eating any foods and keep the aligners out of reach of pets while you eat and drink. To help you better understand what should be avoided when eating and drinking with Invisalign, we have outlined the main things to avoid below.
No matter what food you are eating, you should remove your aligner before eating. Food can damage your aligner trays and could leave you needing an expensive replacement. Even small amounts of soft foods could damage your aligner; it is not worth the risk of leaving them in. Food and any drink other than water can also stain the plastic of your aligner, making your teeth appear a different colour.
Removing stains from your aligners can be tricky and, in some cases, virtually impossible without damaging the aligners, leaving you to pay for expensive replacement.
Invisalign aligners need to be worn for 20 to 22 hours a day, with two hours set aside for eating and cleaning your teeth. While it can be easy to forget to put your aligners back in after eating or brushing your teeth, leaving them out for too long can impact your results, meaning you will need to use the aligners for longer.
Invisalign aligners are very tempting for a dog, and in a second, they can have them in their mouth and be chewing away, ruining your aligners. It is vital that you keep your alignes far out of your pets reach, even if they are in their case, you need to be sure that your pet cannot reach them.
If your pet does manage to chew your aligners, you will need a replacement set, increasing the cost of your treatment.
You don't need to worry too much about the foods you eat during Invisalign, but you should reduce the hard and sticky foods that you eat. We don't recommend eating with Invisalign and suggest that you remove your aligners every time you eat to ensure they last as long as is needed. You can book your Invisalign treatment in Melbourne with us to get more advice on caring for your aligners and start your journey to your dream smile.
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