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If you’re interested in getting a straighter smile, clear aligners can allow you to do that while avoiding some of the most common drawbacks of traditional braces. They’re comfortable, subtle, sleek, and can often produce results months faster than traditional braces.
If that sounds interesting, it would be a good idea to be prepared for what clear aligners entail. Here are some things you should know before getting them.
You Should Wear Your Aligners for 20-22 Hours a Day
Clear aligners are removable, which means that you can take them off before meals and clean them. This eliminates the dietary restrictions that often come with orthodontic treatment and makes things like flossing much simpler than they are with traditional braces.
However, it’s important to remember that your clear aligners only work while you’re wearing them. It’s recommended that if you want to see results, you should wear your aligners for as close to 22 hours a day as possible, 20 hours at a minimum.
You Should Keep Your Aligners Clean
If you manage to get food particles and bacteria trapped in your aligners, they’ll be trapped against your teeth all day and will wreak havoc on your oral health. For that reason, it’s vitally important to keep both your teeth and your aligners clean.
After eating, it’s strongly recommended that you thoroughly brush and floss your teeth. You should also gently brush your aligners to keep them free of any plaque buildup. Your dentist will likely send you home with cleaning crystals that you can soak your trays in, so try and use these at least once a day.
Keep Your Aligners Safe
The fact that these aligners are clear can occasionally cause problems—if you aren’t careful, it’s common to lose them when you take them out for meals.
The best thing to do is to get a carrying case that you put your aligners in when you aren’t wearing them. At the very least, you should refrain from wrapping your trays in a napkin or leaving them on a table, as that makes it a little too easy to accidentally throw them away.
About Our Practice
At Ocean Oaks Dental Group, we’ve been serving our community since 1962, and in all that time we’re proud to say that we’ve managed to stay at the forefront of dentistry. To this day, most of our patients come from word of mouth and references from other healthcare professionals, which speaks to our ability to give our patients consistently great oral healthcare.
If you have any questions about ClearCorrect aligners, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (772) 569-4424.