Now you’ve got your Invisalign trays, it’s probable you’re able to see how easy it can be for more nasty bacteria germs to get stuck on them and multiply. You need to keep both the inner and outer surface of your aligners germ free. Brushing your aligners when you brush your teeth should quickly become standard practice. Make sure as soon as you remove your trays that you’re rinsing them under cold water. You want to do this in order to remove any saliva or plaque build-up that may have formed either overnight or during the course of the day. You can use a soft bristled clean brush with a clear soap or toothpaste on your aligners, but make sure to use products that are not coloured! Any coloured products could cause staining on the appliances and your lovely clear aligners will quickly become stained and discoloured and no longer invisible to prying eyes. It’s recommended that you always carry a little brush and case with you, so after you’ve eaten you’re able to give your teeth and aligners a quick clean before putting them back in. This might seem a little extreme, but it’s often seen when patients get to the end of Invisalign treatments that they are experiencing swollen or bleeding gums as their tooth and gum health has been neglected during the course of the treatment. 

If you aren’t a flosser, it’s really time to start. Though this isn’t a tip for the aligners themselves, flossing is a fantastic way to keep your teeth and gums in fantastic health and will help fight any developing gum disease or decay. 

If you want to keep your aligners bright and clear, and let's be honest, why wouldn’t you? Then it’s really worth investing in either Invisalign cleaning crystals, aligner cleaning tablets or even just good old denture cleaner. These solutions will soak off any hard bits of plaque and just give back the shine to the aligners. 

Don’t leave your Invisalign trays out in the open air, if you leave your aligners out in the open it’s likely any bacteria on them will quickly multiply and build up and this is a big no, no. Not to mention they cost you a lot of money and you need to keep them safe. 

If you’re drinking anything other than water when you’re wearing your trays they will begin to discolour. Avoid drinking anything other than water. Again, the presence of food and drink will just cause bacteria to linger, and we don’t want that. You shouldn’t be consuming any food at all when wearing your aligners anyway so keep that in mind. Chewing whilst wearing could break your aligners and this would be a real shame with serious financial cost.