Can You Drink Alcohol With Invisalign?
Crooked or misaligned teeth can affect how you eat, smile, and speak. Fortunately, teeth straightening treatments like Invisalign are an excellent and worthwhile solution to align your bite and enhance your smile, speech, bites function, and oral health.
If you’re considering Invisalign, or have these aligners, you might wonder whether it’s okay to drink alcohol with them on. Keep reading to learn more.
How does Invisalign work?
Invisalign consists of clear and custom-made aligner trays made from impressions of your mouth and teeth. The aligners are made from clear or transparent plastic and fit snugly around your teeth, making them less noticeable than traditional braces.
The Invisalign aligner puts a gentle, constant force on your teeth, gradually moving them to the desired positions. For quick and effective results, Invisalign aligners should be worn daily for at least 20 – 22 hours. It leaves a 2 – 4-hour window for removing the aligners to eat, drink, brush, or during a special occasion.
About every two weeks, you should wear a new set of aligners. Each pair of aligners moves the teeth to a certain degree. Based on your condition, the treatment can take anywhere around 6 – 18 months. Following your dentist’s instructions will give you a straighter and more beautiful smile in no time. Contact our dentist in Somerset for Invisalign treatment near you.
Removing your Invisalign when eating and drinking
When you begin your Invisalign treatment, our Somerset dentist or orthodontist will instruct you always to remove the aligner trays when eating or drinking other than clear water. It can be due to several reasons.
First, food or beverage particles will likely get trapped in the aligners, leading to plaque and tartar buildup. This increases your risk of oral infections like gum disease, bad breath, tooth decay, and oral thrush.
Secondly, eating or drinking colored items like coffee or sauces can leave behind staining ingredients, staining your teeth, and aligners. Acidic items like soda and sports drinks lead to acid buildup beneath the aligners, escalating tooth decay.
Additionally, eating or drinking hard or hot items with the aligners can cause them to break, chip, or warp, affecting their fit and delaying their efficiency. You must remove your aligners when eating or drinking for these and other reasons.
Can you drink alcohol, wine, coffee, or tea with Invisalign?
A simple answer is no! You should not drink anything apart from clear water with the aligner trays on. Drinking colored beverages like coffee, soda, alcohol, energy drinks, and wine can stain your Invisalign trays.
Since traditional braces are fixed to your teeth, you are limited to the foods and drinks you can have. Thankfully, with Invisalign, you can eat and drink anything you’d typically take as long as you remove the aligners first.
After consuming these items, it’s highly essential that you clean or rinse your mouth thoroughly to get rid of staining elements that can stain your trays and teeth. Also, be sure to rinse the aligners before putting them back on.
Tips for drinking with Invisalign
If, for some reason, you still decide to go against your dentist’s instructions and drink your beverages with your Invisalign aligners on, at least consider the following tips:
- Use a straw. Drinking with a straw reduces the contact between the drink and your teeth and aligners. While it may be impossible to completely prevent some particles from entering the mouth, it’s better than drinking directly without the straw.
- Drink clear drinks. Colorless drinks like vodka and gin are less in sugar and are less likely to stain your teeth or aligners. Still, take caution, as some of these drinks are highly acidic and can lead to tooth decay.
- Rinse with water. Rinse your mouth thoroughly with water to remove any leftover particles. Drink water regularly to keep on washing away these particles.
- Brush as soon as you get a chance. If you’re at an event where you can’t remove your aligners, carry a toothbrush and paste and brush your teeth and aligners as soon as possible.
- Avoid hot items. If you drink with your Invisalign on, at least avoid very hot items like coffee or tea. Your aligners are only designed for average temperatures. Anything hot will cause them to warp, damaging their fit, which can impact their effectiveness and cause discomfort. Allow these drinks to cool before consuming, or remove the aligners to drink them hot.
Are you interested in Invisalign?
For more information about Invisalign treatments and other orthodontic treatments, contact KK Dental – Somerset to speak with our orthodontist in Somerset.