I'm a newbie with a brushing question

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#1 Post by **Rachael** » Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:16 pm

Hello everyone! I'm a month into my Invisalign treatment. I have been told that you are not supposed to brush your teeth right away after drinking soda and eating fruits or anything acidic/sugary. What about coffee and tea? I haven't had a chance to ask my ortho so I searched the Internet. I'm getting a lot of conflicting information about brushing right after coffee or tea. Some say you should wait an hour after drinking coffee or tea and some say it's okay to brush right away so the stain brushes off easily. Your thoughts?

Thanks!

#2 Post by **SimoSorriso** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 9:49 am

Most probably I'm giving you a silly answer so...forgive me if I didn't understand your question.

You should brush your teeth as soon as possible and get back on your aligner! Regardless what you eat or drink, your teeth should be perfectly clean when you wear the aligner. Don't you know how high is the % of cavities with invisalign if you don't have a proper hygiene habit?

Are you still be able to sipping tea and coffee and have your aligner 22/23 hours a day?? ....I wish I could!!

#3 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:15 am

I have too heard that you should wait 30 minutes before brushing after eating/drinking acidic foods/drinks... because brushing too soon can damage the enamel after consuming acidic things.

I am not sure about tea and coffee though... hmm.
I should imagine it can make things quite restrictive with Invisalign, because if you are the type of person who eats alot of fruit, those 30 minute waits could add up (unless of course you put the aligners back in for those 30 minutes before you brush, which I am not personally sure if that's a good idea either).

Oh, I just did a Google search and one website came up with acidic foods/drinks and coffee was in the list.

Hope someone else can help you find an answer!

#4 Post by **andrea26** » Fri Oct 22, 2010 2:32 am

I definately wouldn't wait 30min.You would be loosing all that precious time. Yes, definately right thing to do after you finish your invisalign but the whole point of it is to wear your trays as much as possible. I have finished my treatment and didn't do any damage with brushing straight after eating/drinking but yes ,now I do wait a while after eating before I brush them.

#5 Post by **Rachael** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 2:47 am

I always brushed my teeth after drinking coffees in the morning but I got worried after reading somewhere that said brushing your teeth right after eating/drinking acidic things is like rubbing sand paper on your teeth! The wait is to allow some time for the saliva to repair the damage done to the enamel.

There's a lot of brushing for me during the morning:
1st brush - after waking up
2nd brush - after breakfast + coffee
3rd brush - finishing my other coffee at work
That's 3 brushing in less than 2.5 hours.

I really don't want to get any cavities from wearing Invisalgn ...

Maybe I just have to "wean" myself off coffee ...

Anyway, thanks for your responses.

#6 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 4:40 am

Rachael wrote:somewhere that said brushing your teeth right after eating/drinking acidic things is like rubbing sand paper on your teeth!

That is exactly what I read! It was on another braces forum though... and up until a few months ago I'd never known about it. I don't remember reading about the saliva though, I read everyone should do it, Invisalign, fixed braces, no braces etc... I've even seen a TV advert about it "people who eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit are more prone to acid erosion..."

I can see why it might do damage, but I've never waited before brushing and feel my teeth are ok for it.

I think the internet is a great tool for advice, but also a bad tool... because it can make people worry over absolutely everything.

Even though I am 24, my mum often tries to ban me from Google LOL

Oh and if I wore Invisalign I'd be more worried about cavities by drinking with my aligners in and leaving the sugary drinks sitting between my teeth and the aligner (I read A LOT of people do this

).

#7 Post by **myhollywoodsmile** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:01 pm

Actually, according to my dentist this is true, you shouldn't brush for 30 mins after coke etc. He advised me to swill out my mouth thoroughly, to remove everything that I could. Put my aligners in, then wait 30 minutes before going and brushing them. This is what I do now and it seems to work fine. I have also tried to cut down on soft drinks, but that hasn't gone so well!

#8 Post by **Buster** » Tue Oct 26, 2010 11:04 am

Somewhere a few months ago someone posted a chart of acidity of common foods/drinks. Tea was not terribly acidic, so I go ahead and brush right away. I've basically stopped drinking soda, and if I'm going to drink orange juice, I do it at the start of my meal and give it a half hour before putting aligners back in.

Let me see if I can find that chart...

#9 Post by **Jadol87** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 4:21 pm

Hiiii, hopefully this is not too late to answer your question.

You are all correct, brushing your teeth straight after eating is bad for your teeth, it will wear the enamel down when you brush when your mouth is so acidic. Obviously we cannot wait an hour after each meal to put our trays back in, so I was advised by my dentist that after you eat, you should rinse with a flouride based mouthwash, this is alkaline and will neutralise the acid in your mouth leaving you safe to brush! =)

Im only on day 2 of 1st set of trays and despite wanting to rip them out right now am armed with pocket toothbrushes, toothpaste, and not to forget travel size mouthwash!! And am determined to have straight teeth by the end of summer =D yay!!

Good luck =)

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