Congratulations if your aligner treatment is now complete. After spending the time and money to get your smile perfected with braces, it’s only natural to want to protect your investment.
If you don’t take the appropriate steps, your teeth may shift back into their original locations, leaving you right back where you started.
Cavities, stains, and even tooth loss all pose a threat to your ability to flaunt that stunning smile wherever you go. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to safeguard your smile and your investment, beginning the moment your braces are removed.
1. Wear Your Retainer
Keep your retainer on. If you don’t wear your retainer, the entire aligner process will have been for nothing.
Your teeth will just shift back to where they were before you began, and the entire procedure will be a waste.
Your teeth will stay in position if you wear your retainer at night. If you don’t wear your retainer for even one week, your teeth may shift enough that you won’t be able to put it back on. If you can’t get it on, you won’t be able to stop the change from happening.
2. Clean Your Retainer
Let’s face it: if you don’t take proper care of your retainers, they can quickly become filthy. Plaque, tartar, germs, and food residue can all accumulate on the retainer with constant use.
Wearing a soiled retainer has the same impact as brushing your teeth with a bacteria- and plaque-filled paste every night.
Without daily cleaning and weekly deep cleaning, odors, discoloration, film, and mineral deposits will accumulate all over the retainer. That’s why knowing how to clean clear retainers is crucial.
3. Eat a proper diet
One of the advantages of transparent aligners is that they allow you to eat things that you wouldn’t be able to eat with braces, although some foods may cause additional discomfort during the adjustment phase.
Stick to soft, easy-to-chew foods for the first few weeks after acquiring your clear aligners to reduce pain.
4. Exercise your mouth.
When clear aligners cause discomfort, many people instinctively rest their mouths and avoid doing anything that would irritate them.
While it is necessary to avoid increasing irritation as much as possible, it is also important to maintain the teeth and jaw as comfortable as possible as they acclimate to their new position.