I'm 22 and very conscious of how my teeth look. I had braces when I was 12 aswell and got picked on a lot to start with so I wasn't too keen on having metal braces again. After much deliberation about the best way to go about straightening my teeth I decided on Invisalign!I saw my clincheck video last Thursday and now can't wait to get started! Hopefully I should have my first lot of retainers in about 3-4 weeks!
Does anyone have any hints on what to clean the retainers with? And also what can I drink with them in....I know some people say they drink tea and coffee with them in but does that cause a lot of staining?
I'm a little nervous about getting my first retainers, I worry that I won't be able to get them out or worse back in! Does anyone have any tips on how to get them out and back in?
I only drink water with my braces in day to day, I have never drank anything hot. If I have an evening out to bars I will drink anything cold with them in and have not had any problems, This is no more than once a fortnight but the braces are pretty yucky when I take them out later that evening. I try to rinse with water as much as I can if I am doing this. The problem is not with your brace staining but your actual teeth as they ar not being rinsed by saliva naturally and the attachments can stain too.
I clean my retainers once a day in retainerbrite which I buy from the ortho's office and then brush them with my electric toothbrush and toothpaste once in the morning and evening, other then that I just rinse them after taking them out.
Tips of getting them in and out - use kitchen roll/paper cut into small squares to grab the brace at the back, loosen both sides and then the middle comes out easier, do it very slowly for the first 2 days while it is very tight on your attachements or sometimes you can pull them off.
I'm only on week 3 of my first trays (I change to 2nd trays this weekend).
I started only drinking water with them in but as I saw I was having them out longer than I should (only by half hour of so but still) per day I decided to try drinking my coffee with them in. I never drank it hot anyhow, but now I let it cool even more before drinking. I also drink cold sugar free clear/light colored stuff like diet ginger ale or diet lemon/lime soda's, etc. I haven't tried anything else with them in like alcohol as we seldom drink unless it's a special occasion and none have happened since I got them. I know others drink coffee with them in as well (warm, not hot) and with proper cleaning I don't believe any of them have seen any appreciable staining (nor have I yet).
What I do to clean is I rinse when I take them off and then when I brush my teeth I brush the aligners with my toothbrush/paste. Every few days I soak them in Efferdent during a meal (like what the previous poster mentioned about retainerbrite).
So far I haven't had any issues getting them in and out - I just use my nails or fingers (I have very short nails) to loosen it off the back teeth and it comes out fairly easily. I do not have attachments yet (get those at 6 weeks) so we'll see how that works when I have those. They also make little retainer mover hooks that you can get from your ortho or online, etc to help get them out.
Good luck!
Donna
Started treatment 9/2/09
Treatment finished 4/27/11
Don't be too worried about getting your aligners in or out at first unless you have attachments from the start. Most orthos don't put attachments on for a few weeks to give you time to get used to the aligners. The best way to get them out is to reach back to the very rear of the aligner and use your fingernail to pull the back loose on one side. Then you can work your way around to get them out. It'll become easy once you do this a few times. Attachments make this more difficult, but you can usually get used to removing the aligners again after a few days.
I clean mine with toothpaste when I brush my teeth, which usually works fine. This summer, I had to wear a set of trays 8 weeks waiting for a mid-course correction and needed to use efferdent tablets a few times.
Most of the time, I don't eat or drink anything but water with my aligners in. I will on occasion drink beer, white wine or sugar free soda and then rinse afterwards. I'm also experimenting with an occasional warm cup of coffee (17 months is too long to rush my caffiene!)
My biggest problem is keeping my aligners clean when on the road or when I'm bicycling. I do have retainer wipes and hand sanitizers for these occasions.
I got my first set of aligners on Saturday (17.10.09) and the attachments aswell. I've had trouble getting them in and out (especially out) but starting to master it now. (Monday).
When I got back from the Ortho I tried to get them out for my lunch and one of the attachments came off, then again for my tea and another came off. Can't get them put back on until Friday !!
They are starting to be a little bit more comfortable now but I have noticed that my bottom lips are really dry and cracked. Don't know why !!
Dry and cracked lips can come from tooth paste and all the extra brushing. Be sure to get any toothpaste off your lips with a damp washcloth and use lip balm. I still have problems when I forget to do this.
I'm a chapstick (lip balm) junkie now. I used to use it in the winter when it was really cold and they would get chapped from that but now I use it constantly because they are always dry. I think the previous poster is right about it being from all the brushing. I also notice that I lick my lips more with the aligners in to keep them moist so I'm sure that doesn't help either.
Donna
Started treatment 9/2/09
Treatment finished 4/27/11
Hi there,
You should only drink water with your aligners in, tea and coffee are a definite no no as the heat can warp the aligners.
As for cleaning I use steradent which is similar to The cleaner that starts with the letter P that has been used in spam posts, so it's censored.. It seems to do a great job.
