When you receive your Invisalign trays, you put them in your mouth as directed without a second thought.
You wear them as directed. You follow proper oral hygiene guidelines such
as brushing your teeth before putting them back in. Even though you are
following directions that you talked to your orthodontist about, you will
still need to clean your Invisalign trays.
The most important and most often forgotten step to keeping your Invisalign
trays clean is to rinse them with clean water after you take them out.
This cleans saliva and plaque that can build up on them. Sometimes trays
that are not rinsed may have a foul smell or taste due to bacteria building
up on them.
In addition to rinsing your trays, you should also soak them. Soaking Invisalign
trays allows you to remove the bacteria and plaque that you are unable
to rinse away. You should soak your trays once a week or anytime that
you notice buildup that you are unable to rinse away. Invisalign produces
a cleaning kit made exclusively to soak your trays. This is the best soaking
solution although products like retainer cleaners and denture cleaners
can also be used.
In order to keep your Invisalign trays safe there are some things that
you should keep in mind. When you are rinsing your trays it is important
that you only use cold water. Hot water will lead to trays that are misshapen.
Trays that are misshapen cannot be used, because they will not fit your
teeth correctly. Another mistake that some people make is using a toothbrush
to scrub their trays. This can lead to tiny scratches that can hold bacteria.
Bacteria is hard if not impossible to remove when it gets into these scratches.
Tooth paste is usually gritty, so you should avoid using it on your trays
for the same reason.
Cleaning Invisalign trays is easy. It prevents complications like cavities,
and keeps your trays in good shape. If you have questions about cleaning
your Invisalign trays, then your orthodontist is always the best person
to ask for help.
