How To Adjust Your Life While Wearing Clear Aligners

August 23, 2024

Clear aligners offer numerous advantages over traditional braces: they’re virtually invisible, work efficiently to straighten teeth, and often don’t require any dental visits. They blend seamlessly into your daily life, remaining undetectable in photos, so most people won’t even realize you’re wearing them. In fact, years from now, you might forget you ever had them—until you compare how much straighter your smile has become!

Still, wearing clear dental aligners can be an adjustment for some people. They may not be sure of how long to keep aligners on, how much discomfort is normal, or what they can do while wearing them. Here are some tips to help you adjust to aligners in your everyday life:

1. It will take 1 to 2 weeks to get used to the feeling of the aligners. Because your teeth are physically moving to a straighter position, there will be some discomfort when you start wearing the aligners. Your mouth will generally have to adapt to the feel of the aligners on your teeth, gums, tongue, and lips. The good news is that within 7-14 days, most people have completely gotten used to wearing the aligners. So stick with them and remember that the discomfort is a sign of positive changes to come!
2. Set a timer reminding you to put aligners on. Clear aligners should be removed for eating and drinking. It may be easy for some to forget about putting them back in, so we recommend setting a timer to remind you when you first start wearing them. You may also want to set a timer to go off every morning and evening, reminding you to put them in before you start your day and go to sleep.
3. Keep your clear aligners clean. Aligners require a bit of maintenance to keep them sanitary and safe for everyday use. We recommend cleaning your aligners every time you take them out for meals, even if it’s just by washing them in cold water. You should also soak them in a cup with denture cleaner every few days to keep them fresh.
4. Use a travel kit. You’ll need to commit to wearing your NewSmile clear aligners every day if you want to see results, meaning the aligners need to come with you when you travel. To ease this process, we provide you with a travel kit. We recommend including your case for aligners, cleaning supplies, a travel toothbrush, travel toothpaste, dental floss, and travel mouthwash. This will ensure you’re ready for wearing them wherever you go. Another tip is to always remember you cannot eat with the aligners in, so keep a travel kit with you, so you can put the aligners safely away while you eat!

By following these tips, you’ll be much more prepared to live with clear aligners. Before you know it, you’ll be totally used to wearing them and on your way to a straighter smile. Check out our other blog posts for more information on NewSmile aligners.

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