One of the things that you’ll learn a lot about when you first get your aligners is the necessity of keeping them clean. This serves many purposes—not only will this keep the trays themselves in the best condition possible, but it will also protect your underlying oral health throughout the duration of your orthodontic treatment.
However, you might wonder how likely tooth decay actually is considering that you have a thin plastic tray covering your teeth. Here’s what you should know about the prospect of getting cavities during your Invisalign treatment, and what you can do to keep your oral health in the best condition possible.
Can I Develop Cavities During Invisalign Treatment?
Even though your teeth do have some level of protection while you’re wearing your Invisalign aligners, it’s still very much possible to develop tooth decay during your orthodontic treatment. If you aren’t careful, it’s even possible to find yourself with serious cavities necessitating a filling, root canal, or even an extraction.
How to Prevent Cavities During Clear Aligner Treatment
As you might know, it’s generally expected that you take off your Invisalign aligners before meals. However, if you put your trays back on without cleaning your teeth, various foodstuffs will become trapped in your trays and remain on your enamel. This is the main thing that leads to cavities during Invisalign treatment.
That being the case, the best thing you can do to prevent tooth decay during Invisalign treatment is to thoroughly brush, floss, and rinse out your mouth before putting your clear aligners back on.
How to Clean Your Trays
It’s also important to clean the aligners themselves, not just your teeth. Otherwise, any leftover plaque deposits will slowly accumulate on the trays, contributing to both the problems with your teeth and the discoloration of your aligners.
For this reason, it’s necessary to brush your aligners along with your teeth before putting them back on. It can also be a good idea to let your trays soak in an Invisalign cleaning solution created with their proprietary cleaning crystals—doing this on a daily basis will keep your trays and your teeth in the best condition possible!
About the Author
Dr. Payam Ishani has a true passion for helping people truly love their smiles. This means not only connecting people with incredible, high-quality dental services, but being available to assist them if anything about their treatment is less than ideal. Dr. Ishani received his dental degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, and has remained heavily involved in the process of continuing his education ever since.
If you have any questions about Invisalign, he can be reached at his website or by phone at (405) 254-5094.