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Cleaning Invisalign Aligners

January 20, 2009 by admin 6 Comments

I am happy to endure a lot in pursuit of my Hollywood smile, but one thing that I’m not prepared to suffer is bad breath. I have begged my husband to tell me if he smells even the slightest whiff, but honestly, I think he is too kind to bring it up. My daughters, however, are another story and would gleefully revel in letting me know, so it’s them I am relying on as an early warning system. Nonetheless I’m absolutely pedantic about keeping my aligners clean and have scoured the internet for tips on cleaning Invisalign.

Cleaning Invisalign - toothbrushes

Cleaning Invisalign – Use A Soft Toothbrush

My orthodontist’s suggestions for cleaning Invisalign involved cleaning them with a soft toothbrush and water (but no toothpaste) and soaking them daily in a solution of 1/10 parts bleach and water. However, I am squeamish about chemicals, and more importantly I suffer from Crohn’s disease, so the last thing I would ever do is put something in my mouth that might trigger a flare up of my illness. Not only that, I think the bleachy smell alone is enough to put me off- I don’t want to give myself excuses not to wear them.

Consequently, I have developed my own little Invisalign cleaning system, and am happy to report that three weeks in, both sets of aligners have stayed crystal clear and odour free.

Firstly, and I think this is crucial, I don’t ever eat or drink anything except water whilst wearing my aligners. I am also absolutely fastidious about rinsing them under running water after I remove them from my mouth. Believe me, this is important -if you forget to do it by the time you come to reinsert them they are less than fragrant.

Cleaning Invisalign - a glass of water

Cleaning Invisalign – Never eat or drink anything other than water whilst wearing Invisalign

Secondly, before I put them back in I do the full brush, floss, rinse routine, almost without exception. The only times I haven’t been able to do this because I have forgotten my toothbrush I have at least flushed my mouth thoroughly with water before putting them back in, and then taken them out and brushed as soon as I get the chance. I do notice when I do this that they have a very slight smell- personally, I don’t think it is ideal, even though my ortho’s assistant says she does it all the time. As well as brushing and flossing my teeth I also give the aligners a quick going over with the toothbrush before I re-insert them. There’s nothing worse than not cleaning Invisalign before you put them in your mouth. I have read of people using pre-pasted disposable toothbrushes for when they are out and about. I haven’t tried them, but you can find them here. 

Cleaning Invisalign - polident

Cleaning Invisalign – Regularly use a cleaning product like steradent or polident to keep your aligners clean.

Lastly, when I clean and floss for the last time at night I soak them in a denture bath (a small plastic tub) with water and a Polident tablet. This gives them a slight pinky tinge, which rinses off under running water, but definitely makes them seem fresher. I should point out that Invisalign expressly recommend against this, although it was suggested to me by my orthodontist’s assistant as the way she cleans hers.. I wouldn’t want to lead anyone astray…

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Filed Under: aligners, clean, clean invisalign, cleaning invisalign, Invisalign blog, Invisalign blog aligners, invisalign clean, prepasted brushes, toothbrush, toothpaste Tagged With: adult braces, aligners, bad breath, cleaning invisalign, hollywood smile., invisalign, invisalign braces, invisalign cleaning, steradent, sterilising invisalign

Comments

  1. JUNE B. says

    August 21, 2011 at 10:10 am

    That was the worst advice ever your doc gave to you lol. The best way to clean them is with a soft bristle brush & warm water, if you cant afford the crystal cleaners. If you can afford the invisalign iam very sure you can purchase cleaners. I was warned against other tablets because they make the aligners foggy and more noticeable. Hope you got that hollywood smile! PEACE 🙂

    Reply
    • admin says

      August 21, 2011 at 2:06 pm

      Hi June,

      I have actually been using Polident for 2.5 years on my aligners, including on a set I wore for about 3 months. I’m happy to report that they aren’t cloudy or foggy at all, just as crystal clear as ever. I think some people like to sell you the crystals because they are more expensive. They aren’t necessary though.

      Reply
    • kaz says

      October 24, 2011 at 3:13 pm

      i have the crystals but i dont know how do use it

      Reply
  2. jennifer says

    April 26, 2010 at 1:53 pm

    This blog is great i am getting my invisilign in 1hour and have been reading all of you posts! i too have crohns so seems like we have loads in common!! jenn

    Reply
  3. STB says

    February 3, 2009 at 6:21 am

    >Ditto.

    I really wish my dentist had provided more instructions regarding how to care for the trays. I’d be bit cautious about cleaning with bleach too and will check with my dentist about the steradent. The tip about rinsing them thoroughly has been helpful though!

    Thanks and look forward to more updates!

    STB or LT from the Braces review forums

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    January 22, 2009 at 5:49 am

    >Wow, thanks for the tips. I’m definitely going to try that. ^^^ They have invisalign cleaning crystals, but they are way too expensive. I’m glad you haven’t had any color changes or bad odors. Thanks, again. 🙂 I really like reading ur blog.

    Reply

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Ex model, mother, English & Australian. 2 daughters, 1 dog, 2 cats, 2 rabbits, a horribly expensive beauty habit and an obsession with straight teeth.

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