Wear Your Aligners Consistently
This is the single most important factor in how well your treatment goes. Clear aligners need to be in your mouth for a minimum of 22 hrs every day to work as planned. That leaves you two hours for eating, and brushing/flossing.
I understand that life happens. There will be dinners, events and days where you fall a little short. But if removing your aligners for convenience becomes a habit, you will notice your treatment falling behind, your aligners feeling tight for longer than they should, and ultimately, your results taking longer to achieve.
A practical tip: keep your aligner case with you at all times. When you remove your aligners to eat, put them in the case immediately. This also prevents the most common cause of lost aligners, which is wrapping them in a napkin and accidentally throwing them away.
Change Your Aligners on Schedule
My team or I (Dr. MacKenzie) will give you a schedule for when to move to your next set of aligners. Most patients in clear aligner treatment change their aligners once a week. There are treatments such as Angel Pro where patients change their aligners twice a week. Each set of aligners is designed to move your teeth a precise, small amount. Follow your change schedule in detail.
Keep Your Aligners Clean and the Case Clean as Well
Clear aligners need to be cleaned regularly. When you remove them to eat or drink, brush them with a toothbrush and toothpaste before putting them back in. If you don’t have your toothbrush or toothpaste with you, rinse them with water and then brush at home. Never use hot water, as this can warp the plastic and affect how they fit.
If you want a deeper clean for your aligners, the ultrasonic cleaning pod is the best! There are also aligner cleaning crystals and tablets available that work very well. Ask us at your next appointment and we can recommend what we use with our patients.
Water Is The Best Drink
This is one of the most important and most frequently ignored rules of aligner treatment. At MacKenzie Orthodontics, you are allowed to drink coffee, tea, or other drinks with your aligners in. If the drinks are sugary or acidic such as juice or pop, I recommend removing your aligners and rinsing with water afterwards. Sugary or acidic drinks cause cavities and permanent scarring on the teeth (enamel decalcification) and should be avoided. If you drink black coffee or tea, it will stain your aligners, but most patients change them once a week, so it is not a big issue.
Keep your Teeth Clean
This matters more during aligner treatment than at almost any other time. When you wear aligners, you are covering your teeth with a close-fitting invisible shell for most of the day and night. Any food particles or plaque left on your teeth get trapped against them under the aligner, which creates ideal conditions for cavities and gum irritation.
Brush your teeth after every meal and before you put your aligners back in. Floss every day. If you are somewhere without a toothbrush, at minimum rinse your mouth thoroughly with water before reinserting your aligners.
The patients who finish aligner treatment fastest and with the healthiest teeth and gums are the ones who have elevated their oral hygiene routine. Remember that you also have to brush your aligners with a toothbrush and toothpaste and keep your aligner case clean.
Attend All Your Appointments and Bring Your Aligners
Clear aligner treatment is carefully monitored by Dr. MacKenzie at regular aligner check appointments. These appointments allow us to confirm that your teeth are tracking as planned and make any necessary adjustments. Bring all your aligners to all your appointments. We work hard to keep our appointments efficient and on time, and we appreciate when our patients do the same.
At MacKenzie Orthodontics, we also offer remote monitoring for many of our patients who travel long distances to see us, which means we can keep an eye on your progress between visits and reduce the number of in-office appointments you need. Ask us at your next visit whether remote monitoring is available for your treatment.
Use Your Chewies
If we have provided you with chewies, you should be using them for about 2-3 min three times a day. Chewies are small foam cylinders called chewies or aligner seaters, use them. Biting down on them for a few minutes after inserting a new set of aligners helps seat the aligner fully against your teeth, ensuring it fits properly and works as intended.
Tell Us if Something Doesn’t Feel Right
Clear aligner treatment should involve some mild pressure, particularly in the first day or two with a new set of aligners. It should not involve sharp pain, significant discomfort that does not improve, or aligners that feel completely wrong on your teeth.
If something feels off, please contact us. It is much easier to address a small issue early than to correct a problem that has been developing for several weeks. Our team is always happy to hear from you between regular appointments.