How Comfortable is Invisalign?
Very comfortable. And I am saying this from my personal experience. I am wearing Invisalign clear aligners myself at this point and I can state that they are very comfortable. Most of the time I am not even aware that they are in. When I take them out to eat, after a while, I feel that something is missing and I need to put them back in.
Couple recommendation for Invisalign patients:
1. Wear the Invisalign aligners at least 22 hours per day. The teeth need to have them on for at least 22 hours/day in order for the controlled movement to occur. Wearing them 22 hrs/day will ensure that the next aligners are going to fit and will create further movement on the teeth.
2. Take them out only when you eat. When you want to eat, take them out, brush them right away, put them in the aligner box and have the box with you. After you eat, floss, brush your teeth and then put them in. If you are a frequent snacker, reduce the nr of snacks per day during the course of the treatment. Anyway the treatment is not too long and you’ll see that with a little effort you can reduce the nr of meals per day.
3. When you take the Invisalign aligners out, clean them right away while they are wet. When I say clean them, I mean brush them with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Do it before they dry out. After they are dry, the saliva, bacteria, electrolites precipitate and condense on the aligners making almost impossible to remove. If it happens it is not a big deal, because you are going to change the aligner in maximum 2 weeks, but why not have a nice and clean, clear aligner for the duration of the 2 weeks? A clean aligner is going to help you avoid bad breath and avoid your teeth to look darker.
4. Floss and brush all the time before you put them back on. You cannot put them back on teeth that are not brushed and flossed. The trays are going to get dark and smelly in a matter of days. Plus, by leaving food debris under the trays, you are making them prone to decay.
5. If one of the attachments(engagers) come out, call my office right away to replace it. Attachments are very important in the movement of the teeth. They are like “handles” that the aligners use to grab the teeth better and move them faster and more predictably.
6. If a new Invisalign aligner does not fit all the way after 48 hours of wearing, most likely it is from not wearing previous trays long enough per day to allow predictable movement. In the first 48 hours you can try to bite lightly on the aligners to push them down more onto the teeth. If after 48 hours, they do not go down, please contact my office for an evaluation. we’ll either have you wear the previous aligners or we’ll take new correction impressions.
7. If after you had your attachments(engagers) placed, you feel that they are rough or you cannot floss between certain teeth, call my office right away. It is because the bonding agent leaked between the teeth and is preventing the floss to go through and also makes the teeth feel rough. The bonding agent is clear so it is hard to be seen even by the dentist.