1) Is Invisalign painful?
Invisalign treatment is not painful. There will be moments where you feel pressure on certain areas. As you progress through treatment and change your aligners, you will feel pressure in different areas. In general, the pressure that you feel will subside after a day or two.
2) How often should you wear your aligners?
For a fast and reliable result, we recommend wearing each aligner for 18-22 hours a day, 2 weeks each set.
3) How to clean your aligners?
You should clean your aligners daily. The easiest way to clean your aligner is brushing it with a toothbrush and soap. See 4 Ways to Clean Your Aligners here
4) What is attachment and how does it work?
Attachments are tiny tooth colored bumps. Since your teeth surfaces are flat, in order to move them in a certain direction more effectively, we would need to use the attachments as added leverage and torque. See The Process of Bonding Attachments here
5) What is IPR? Is it necessary for Invisalign treatment?
IPR known as Interproximal Reduction, is the process of polishing between the teeth, to create a small space for the teeth to move. See The Process of IPR here
6) Can you drink coffee or tea with your aligners on?
Tea has color and if it seeps between your teeth and aligners, it will cause staining—best to remove them first. Lighter color teas with no added sugar and are room temperature or cooler is acceptable. Remove your aligners when you are eating or drinking. It is okay to drink water or sparkling water while wearing your aligners.
7) Will your speech be affected?
Whenever something new is placed in your mouth, speech is affected. The aligners are thin mold to your teeth very closely. As your tongue adapts to having aligners over your teeth, any lisp will disappear.
8) What to do if you mix - match your aligners?
Each aligner and aligner bag has your unique case number, a “U” for upper and “L” for lower, and the aligner tray number. Match the information on your aligners with your aligner bag.
9) What to do if you lose your aligners?
Every time you change to your next aligners. We recommend you keep your previous aligners. You can wear your previous aligners for the meantime, until you get your replacement aligners.
Please keep your aligners in its case when you’re not wearing it to prevent losing it. Do not wrap it in a napkin, it can mistakenly get thrown out. If you have pets, please keep it away from them.
However, mistakes happen! If you lost your aligners or if there’s any issues such as breakage with your aligners, please contact your orthodontist as soon as possible.
10) What happens after finishing Invisalign treatment?
After finishing Invisalign you will need to wear retainers for a lifetime to maintain your beautiful smile. Learn more about retainers here.
