If you’ve decided to start out on your journey to straighter teeth you could be wondering what you can be doing to make your Invisalign journey successful. As with everything there are of course things you can and should be doing to make sure you keep your smile healthy during your orthodontic treatment and your Invisalign trays in good working order.
Oral Hygiene
When you begin your Invisalign in Fulham journey it’s important to know that your oral hygiene becomes more important now than ever before. You need to keep on top of cleaning your teeth or plaque and tartar will very quickly and easily build up and begin to show signs of decay and gum disease. Lots of people end orthodontic treatments with signs of decay and gum disease as they haven’t correctly taken care of their teeth during the straightening process.
Though you should have been keeping on top of your oral hygiene already, it’s worth talking through best practices for complete oral hygiene.
Steps you should be taking every day you should be brushing twice daily for a minimum of two minutes. You should use circular motions across the full 360’ of the tooth and pay particular attention to the gum line as this is where bacteria is most likely to build up.
Flossing your teeth is really important, it’s very common for people to neglect this stage of cleaning but this is a mistake. Flossing is the only way to get deep down into the gum line and reach the secret corners where bugs like to hide and multiply. Flossing can be a tedious part of your daily routine when you first begin but once you make it a habit you can quickly adapt to it.
Cleaning Your Invisalign
The cleaning of the Invisalign in Fulham is just as important as cleaning your teeth. As this is probably the first time you had to clean an orthodontic appliance, we can talk through those steps too.
Firstly, you need to use a non-electric, soft bristled toothbrush alongside a nonabrasive, colourless soap or toothpaste to clean the inside and outside of the trays. When you’re cleaning the trays try not to scrub, push, or press too hard as the pressure could damage the trays and you’ll need to have replacements made, which along with being costly will slow down your teeth straightening journey.
If you have the means to invest in a cleaning solution for your trays this is highly recommended. Invisalign have their own cleaning crystals but you could use retainer cleaner or denture cleaner to achieve the same results. The great things about these products are that they kill 99.9% of bacteria alongside giving back the aligner trays their super brite shine.
Making sure that you rinse your aligners in water every time you remove them for eating and drinking is really important to make sure you’re getting off the top layers of bad bacteria. Carrying a hard case for the trays and a travel toothbrush is an excellent way to keep on top of this.