Orthodontics Today – all about braces and orthodontic devices

Many of the Invisalign patients expect a treatment that’s very easy and with no problems. Even if, compared to the metal braces or other orthodontic treatment systems, Invisalign is easy to get used to, it still requires a lot of discipline and care. For an Invisalign user the first problem that might appear is the unpleasant smell of the trays after few days of wearing them. THIS IS NORMAL, but still we can do something about it.

If we were to think about the causes we can mention the plaque built up on the trays (as it builds up on the teeth), eating/drinking with the trays on, improper teeth brushing and tray cleaning.

The phenomenon can be kept under control with a STRICT hygiene routine. Invisalign requires a lot of discipline (here, I said it again) so do expect to have a proper cleaning schedule. Here are some of my tricks to minimize the Invisalign aligners small to almost zero smell. My trays, after I clean them and brush my teeth are sparkling clean and my mouth keeps a fresh “taste” for a lot of time:

• I NEVER EAT ANYTHING with the trays on. If I want to snack, I remove the Invisalign, eat at ease and then BRUSH teeth, CLEAN trays and I am set again.
• I don’t drink ANYTHING but mineral water with the trays on. If I want soda or coke, I remove them and maybe also snack a bit, since I made the “move” with them again
• I never wear the trays on dirty teeth. I have the toothpaste/toothbrush set with me all the time. I have more sets (at home, at my BF’s, in the bag, the laptop case). If I want to eat and don’t have the “set”, I purchase it and then eat/brush. If I don’t feel like brushing I don’t eat. Just drink some water and wait till I get somewhere I can eat and clean my teeth afterwards
• my Invisalign cleaning is pretty simple: I brush the trays with my toothbrush and rinse with clear water. Some use a lot of solutions, I found out that plain water is just OK as long as I clean them after each removal or better, before putting the trays on again.

With a good brushing schedule my trays are clean, they stay on clean teeth and there is no smell. In the first weeks I used mouth wash as a cleaning solution. The minty smell remained on the trays and made them smell pretty “funky”. For the second set I started using ONLY water with great care when it comes to brushing the aligners. It seemed to work perfectly. They are always clean and the smell is not there anymore.

How do you handle this?

Popularity: 4% [?]