So you’ve decided to get ALINA aligners! That’s awesome! We’re thrilled that you’ve chosen us to help you uncover your smile.
Naturally, we want you to have the best experience when using your aligners, and part of that is ensuring that you’re armed with the knowledge you need to care for them. Here’s everything you need to know to keep your clear aligners, and your teeth, looking great to ensure you achieve your most beautiful smile.
- How often should you clean clear aligners?
Unlike other kinds of teeth alignment, your ALINA aligners are made of a space-age material with just the right balance between flex and rigidity. More importantly, the material used for them is completely sterile, so by default, they’re meant to be clean and safe.
To ensure that they stay that way, your aligners should be cleaned around twice a day. Also, apart from cleaning them, you should also rinse them with lukewarm water whenever putting them in. This prevents the spread of bacteria on the aligners themselves—bacteria that might wind up on your teeth and cause an infection or decay.
For more tips on how to keep your aligners looking great, keep reading! And click here to learn more about invisible braces prices.
- Care Tips for Clear Aligners
Among the different types of braces, aligners are the popular choice for people who want to straighten their teeth while also avoiding the “metal mouth” look. So it’s only natural that anyone who uses aligners would want to keep them clean and perfectly transparent. Here are some tips to help keep aligners looking their best.
1. Rinse out your aligners with lukewarm water when taking them out
This has been mentioned in passing already, but it can’t be stressed enough. It might be considered distasteful to think about, but the reality is that our mouths house a lot of bacteria. Naturally, some of this bacteria is transferred to pretty much anything our mouths come into contact with, so there will inevitably be some bacteria that winds up on your aligners.
By rinsing the aligner out before putting it back in, you prevent bacteria from being reintroduced into your mouth and more importantly, you’re able to keep it away from the surfaces of your teeth.
Also, take note that you should use lukewarm (but not hot) water to rinse out your aligner. Hot water may cause your aligner to warp or distort, preventing it from straightening your teeth properly.
2. Brush and floss your teeth before each wear
This bit of advice is just good sense. Keeping your teeth clean is doubly important if you have aligners, so follow the advice of the American Dental Association and brush them twice a day, with your aligners out. Doing this clears away bacteria-causing food particles that get trapped in between the teeth, preventing cavities and gum disease.
3. Use the recommended aligner cleaning solution
Your ALINA aligner will come with its own recommended cleaning material, so use that whenever you need to clean your aligner tray. Try to avoid using toothpaste or denture cleaner to clean your aligner.
Some people have claimed that the silicates and other abrasives in these cleaning materials cause scratches on the aligner trays, but with ALINA, this is actually less of a concern. The material that ALINA’s trays are made from is very durable and highly scratch-resistant.
The real reason toothpaste and similar substances should be avoided when cleaning your aligners is that they could cause the aligners to become cloudy if they’re not washed out well. You definitely want your aligners to be as clear as possible, to allow that beautiful smile to be seen, no matter how much progress you’ve made in your treatment.
4. Avoid colored and sugary drinks
In line with wanting your aligners to remain perfectly clear throughout the time you use them, make sure that you’re refraining from drinking heavily colored or very sugary drinks when you have them in. Drinks with a lot of coloration—even naturally occurring coloration in drinks like tea or coffee—can cause staining in your aligners and make your teeth look oddly colored.
Meanwhile, avoiding sugary drinks in general is generally good advice, but it’s especially important if you’re using aligners. If you have a sugary drink while your aligners are in, the sugars in the drink can form a film inside the aligner trays themselves, effectively immersing your teeth in a sugar solution. This can cause all sorts of dental issues, including cavities and tooth and gum infections.
5. Don’t leave your trays exposed to the open air while not wearing them
This is another tip that seems like common sense, but actually is really important. Leaving your aligners exposed to the open air leaves them open to collecting dust, dirt, and bacteria, three things you definitely don’t want on something that’s going to enter your mouth.
Many people use cases or plastic containers when having to remove their aligners. When these aren’t available, simply wrapping them in a hanky should suffice for keeping them clean and dirt-free.
6. Never eat anything with your aligners in!
It’s ok to drink some cold water while wearing your aligners, but never eat anything while wearing them. They aren’t designed to withstand chewing, and they may end up getting stained from food, ruining their clear finish as a result.
We should also mention here that you should try not to chew or bite on your aligners unconsciously. This is a habit that some people do when they’re bored, but doing this to your aligners can warp them and damage them.
If all of this sounds interesting, you should consider getting ALINA invisible braces today. You can learn more about how ALINA works here.
Why you should choose ALINA for clear aligners
ALINA clear aligners are specially designed to allow wearers to truly uncover their smiles. Make ALINA your choice for your partner to a beautiful smile if you want a product with:
- Better materials – ALINA is made from a space-age, highly durable material with just the right amounts of flexibility and rigidity, to uncover your smile gently but effectively.
- Better technology – ALINA is powered by its AlinaSmile technology, which uses Artificial Intelligence to determine your most beautiful smile, according to your face shape and the world-renowned Golden Ratio.
- Better results – With more than 25 years of experience in the US and Canada, as well as thousands of patients’ beautiful smiles uncovered, the results of partnering with ALINA speak for themselves.
Book a consult today to begin your journey to your most beautiful smile!
