Living with Invisalign
Day to day, Invisalign means taking the aligners out to eat and to drink anything but water, cleaning your teeth and trays before they go back in, and keeping them in for twenty to twenty-two hours a day. You can eat anything you like, which is the big advantage over fixed braces.
The short answer
- •Out to eat, out for any drink except plain water, then brush before re-inserting.
- •No banned-food list: you remove the aligners, so you can eat normally.
- •Coffee, tea, wine and fizzy drinks stain trays and teeth; have them out.
- •A slight lisp in the first few days is normal and settles within a week.
- •Fewer, longer eating windows protect your twenty-hours-a-day wear time.
Eating, drinking and cleaning
Because the aligners come out for meals, there is no list of forbidden foods. The discipline is in the drinks: hot drinks can warp the plastic, and coloured or sugary drinks stain and feed decay if trapped under a tray. Plain water is the only thing to drink with them in.
Clean your teeth, or at least rinse well, before re-inserting, and rinse the aligners under cool water. A gentle clean of the trays each morning keeps them clear and odour-free. Avoid hot water and coloured mouthwash on the plastic.
Speech, habits and wear time
A slight lisp is common for the first few days as your tongue adapts; reading aloud speeds it up, and it generally passes within a week. Smokers should know that smoking with aligners in stains them quickly, so it means more removal and cleaning.
The thread through all of it is wear time. Aligners only move teeth when worn twenty to twenty-two hours a day, so grazing on snacks and drinks all day quietly eats into the total. Planning food into a few windows is the simplest way to stay on track.
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Living with it questions
Can I eat anything with Invisalign?
Yes. You take the aligners out to eat, so there is no banned-food list as there is with fixed braces. Just brush before putting them back in.
Will Invisalign affect my speech?
Most people get a slight lisp for the first few days while the tongue adapts. It usually settles within a week, and reading aloud helps.