What Can I Drink with Invisalign?
More and more teens and adults in the Philadelphia, PA area have turned to Invisalign® to straighten crooked teeth rather than traditional braces. Thanks to Invisalign, people can experience the benefits of orthodontic care invisibly, without any of the brackets or wires of braces.
Convenience is a key advantage of Invisalign, and something that Dr. Kellyn Hodges stresses to her patients. That said, those aligner trays need to come out when you’re having a drink. Well, at least with one exception. Let’s discuss what that beverage is and why others don’t make the cut.
How Invisalign Works
First let’s talk about some basics with Invisalign, which will also explain why patients have questions about their diet during treatment.
During Invisalign treatment, the aligner trays stay in place at all times save for when eating, drinking, and cleaning your teeth. This allows each tray to gradually shift your teeth into a better position. Each aligner tray is worn for two weeks, at which point a new tray is swapped in.
You Can Drink Cool Water with Your Aligners On
You don’t always have to take out your Invisalign aligner when you drink. If you’re having clean water that’s cool or cold, you can leave your trays in. This allows you to quench your thirst without always having to take out your aligner trays.
Take Off Invisalign Aligners When Drinking Anything Else
While cool and cold water are fine to drink with Invisalign trays in place, we remind our Philadelphia patients that their Invisalign trays have to be taken out for all other beverages. That includes hot drinks, sodas, juices, coffee, tea, and so on.
We recommend brushing or at least rinsing your teeth with water after drinking any of these beverages before putting your aligner trays back on.
Why You Should Take Out Your Aligners When Drinking
Why is water okay while everything else isn’t? There are some practical reasons why:
- Avoid Tooth Decay - Water contains no sugar or sweeteners. Beverages with some sugar could get trapped under the aligner tray. This long-term exposure of your teeth to sugary liquids could increase the risk of tooth decay.
- Avoid Staining Your Teeth - In addition to cavities, many beverages often contain food coloring and other ingredients that can stain your teeth. Just imagine your teeth sitting in a bath of coffee for a few hours and the sort of discoloration that can cause.
- Keeps the Aligner Properly Shaped - You’ll notice an emphasis on cool water above. Hot water and hot drinks can warp the shape of an Invisalign tray, leading to a less effective treatment and pain when putting on the next aligner tray in the treatment sequence.
- Keeps the Aligner Free from Stains - Finally, one of the greatest appeals of Invisalign is that the clear plastic trays are hard to notice. Certain beverages can stain your Invisalign trays in addition to your teeth, making them easier to detect. Keep your trays clean to maintain all benefits of the procedure.
We’re Here to Answer All of Your Questions
While the information above is pretty straightforward to dental health professionals, it may not be quite as obvious to patients. That’s why our Philadelphia orthodontic treatment center is here to give you all the information you need about Invisalign, traditional braces, and other procedures. If you have a question, feel free to ask us.
Learn More About Invisalign
For more information about Invisalign and how it can benefit you, be sure to contact a skilled orthodontist and dental care specialist. Dr. Hodges and her team can be reached by phone at (215) 883-0611.