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At Volterra Dental in Los Alamitos, California, we offer our patients the tools they need for beautiful, healthy teeth. An increasingly popular option among our extensive suite of services and products is Invisalign® aligners.
These nearly invisible dental appliances can straighten your teeth without the brackets and wires required for traditional braces. To take advantage of the benefits of Invisalign, here are a few simple instructions for the care of your aligner trays.
Give them a rinse
One of the biggest benefits of Invisalign aligners is the fact that you can remove them whenever you want. But each time you take out the trays, they can be exposed to dirt and bacteria. To ensure that they retain their clarity, give them a rinse with lukewarm water before you pop them back in. Be sure that the water isn’t too hot, because hot water may warp your trays.
Brush up
When you remove your Invisalign aligners for eating, be sure to thoroughly brush, floss, and rinse your teeth before you put your trays back in. The last thing you want to do is trap food in your teeth because it can cause decay.
A thorough cleaning
We recommend that you wear your aligners for 20-22 hours a day, taking them out only to brush and eat. We also want you to thoroughly wash your aligners once a day, which you can do at the same time you brush your teeth. Invisalign offers a special cleaning system that removes plaque without harming the trays.
Keeping track
It’s hard enough to keep track of all the little things in your life, and your aligner trays can be especially tricky to keep track of. When you take them out, have a special place for them, and keep them in their case to avoid having them accidentally thrown out or eaten by the dog.
Mind the blue
Some of the aligners come with blue compliance indicators to ensure that you wear your aligners for the right amount of time. Pay attention to this feature as it will help you get to your goals on time.
Keep your aligners
You may want to hold onto your old aligners until your straightening process is completed. There may be a reason why we would want you to take a step back — though this doesn’t happen often — and you won’t want to have to buy more trays.
With a little care, Invisalign will accomplish exactly what you want: straighter teeth without unsightly metal braces.
If you have any questions about the care of your Invisalign trays, or if you want to see if Invisalign aligners are right for you, contact us at Volterra Dental today.