Congratulations on starting your clear & comfortable journey towards a beautiful & healthy smile! Follow these aligner instructions to ensure a timely result:
7 Golden Aligner Instructions:
- Wear your aligners at least 21 hours/day.
- Inadequate wear will increase treatment time and affect your treatment results.
- Changing over to braces will increase treatment time & incur extra costs.
- Always wear your aligners for as many days each as instructed.
- Do not wear aligners when eating or when drinking anything with sugar.
- Sugar will seep under the aligner and cause cavities
- Colored, sugarless drinks are OK, such as black coffee & black tea.
- Use chewies as much as possible.
- Chewies improve tray seating and increases tooth movement.
- Think of them more as Clenchies. Contrary to their name, do not chew on the chewies. Clench on them for a few seconds in each area of your mouth.
- Keep your aligners in their case when not in your mouth.
- You will throw away your aligners if you wrap them in a napkin.
- You will break or distort your aligners if they are in your pocket.
- Your dog will find them and chew them up.
- Before placing your aligners back in your mouth, brush & floss when possible. At the very least, rinse with water. You may brush & floss at your earliest convenience.
- Keep your aligners clean.
- Brush them under cool, running water.
- No toothpaste – aligners will get scratched.
- No hot water – aligners can distort.
- When you are done with your current aligner, keep it in it’s original bag.
- If you lose or forget your aligners during travel, your teeth will start shifting back.
- If the above happens, you may go back to a previous aligner that fits the best.
What to expect after your first appointment:
- You will be sore for a few days. Your teeth, lips, gums, & cheeks will take some time to get used to the new appliances. Take Ibuprofen (Advil) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol) as needed. Most patients do not need any medications.
- You will be sorefor a few days after every aligner switch.
- You will produce more saliva for up to 7 days.
- It will take some time to figure out the best way to remove and replace your aligners. With practice, you will be able to remove and replace your aligners in a fraction of the time.
- You may experience a slight lisp for 1-2 weeks. This is normal as your mouth gets used to speaking with aligners. Practice makes perfect, so the more you talk with aligners in, the faster you will be able to speak normally.
- Your bite will change over time. This is normal.
- Expect some soreness with each new aligner.