Can you eat with Invisalign?

Compared with old-school train track braces, Invisalign offers a more flexible eating experience. The great news is there is no food completely off the table, just a few little things to be mindful of.  

Everyone knows how train track braces work. Think Ugly Betty; the wires and the brackets stuck onto the front of your teeth by your childhood orthodontist. Now don’t get me wrong, train track braces do work. But anyone who’s worn them will tell you they needed frequent emergency visits back to the orthodontist because their brackets pinged off. And why does this bracket breaking happen? The culprit is mostly food. 

Hard foods can knock brackets off and soft foods get stuck in the wires. Ewwww.

Invisalign teeth straightening doesn’t depend on brackets or wires. Invisalign works using aligners; clear, discreet plastic that wraps around your teeth and is removed when you eat. So, don’t be pinged off — because you remove Invisalign, you can eat whatever you want!  

Smile Stories in Bournemouth have straightened hundreds of happy Invisalign clients’ teeth and we get asked a lot, “Can you eat with Invisalign?” Based on our experience — and after having a good old chin-wag with our clients — we’ve created our five top tips for eating with Invisalign.  

What and How Can You Eat with Invisalign?

The 2 Hour Eating Window 

The Invisalign treatment will correct most bites and cosmetic concerns, but there’s something essential we need from you to make that happen — you have to wear them! In fact, you need to wear your Invisalign aligners for 22 hours every day. 

The only time you should take your aligners out is to eat, and how you allocate your feeding time is completely up to you. If you eat three square meals per day, you have 40 minutes per meal to eat, brush and replace them. Alternatively, spend two hours down the Chinese Buffet and have done with it. 

Eating with Invisalign couldn’t be easier. Knock yourself out.

Always Be Prepared 

After you finish eating, you’ll need to clean your teeth before putting your clear aligners back in your mouth. If you don’t, your food will sit on the biting surfaces of your teeth and get trapped under the aligner, meaning smelly breath and a higher risk of decay. 

It’s not the coolest look if a toothbrush drops out of your lunch box, so we always recommend a care kit. Just a small wash bag will do, and inside you’ll place your Invisalign storage case, a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, your chewies, and your aligner remover. At Smile Stories, we give you a super-cute care kit when you start Invisalign with us. 

Thank us later.

The Invisalign Diet 

Are you a snacker? Always got your fingers in a packet of crisps or grazing on some nuts? This may get a little more tricky with Invisalign. Apart from the fact you need to wear your Invisalign clear aligners for 22 hours daily, you’re now going to find snacking more interesting. 

Because it is important you always take out your Invisalign aligners before you eat, you might have to limit your snacking and do all your consuming during your set mealtimes.

Is it really worth removing your aligners, eating a few crisps, brushing your teeth to then put them back in? Possibly not. But look on the bright side — you might find Invisalign helps get rid of any unhealthy eating habits.

We call this the Invisalign diet.

When You’re Eating, Keep Your Aligners Safe

By now, you know Invisalign must be removed when eating. But what are you going to do with it?

Here’s what you’re not going to do – put it on the side, wrap it in a tissue or leave it next to the sink. Take it from me; I’ve heard it all. The aligners will fall off the side and the dog will get them; the waiter will throw away your tissue, or they’ll drop into the plughole, never to be seen again. 

Where will you put them? In their case. Always. Lost Invisalign aligners will mean your dentist has to order new ones, which will delay your treatment and slow your smile transformation.

Never Drink Turmeric Lattes

Unless you’d like the bright yellow teeth looks. 

Turmeric stains your aligners, and you’ve got more chance of decontaminating Chernobyl than removing it.

In fact, if you are thinking of drinking anything while wearing aligners, we recommend you stick to water. Drinks like red wine and turmeric lattes can stain your invisible aligner, which sort of defeats the point of the whole invisible thing.

Contact our experts at Smile Stories and find out how we can help transform your smile with our Invisalign in Bournemouth. Book your free video consultation today.

AUTHOR

Dr Gareth Edwards is an Invisalign expert in one of the leading teeth straightening clinics along the South Coast, Smile Stories. So if you’re looking for Invisalign in Bournemouth, then we’d love to help.