invisialign for a snacker?

[drgnchsr36]

Is it a bad idea to get invisalign if one snacks and drinks tea/hot chocolate throughout the day?

I'm pondering if it's worth the extra money if I'll be taking them off all the time.

Thoughts?

[ohioinvisguy]

Having invisalign is a commitment, and you have to be willing to make changes in your normal eating/drinking (except water although I do drink an occasional soda w/ my aligners in but brush after I am finished) habits. Also consider that you need to floss/brush your teeth after meal and snack. If you think you might have trouble getting into this routine, invisalign might not be suited for you as a treatment option. Best of luck in whatever treatment you choose!

[drgnchsr36]

Thanks for the reply! I have a couple of months to decide..

[sammywantstraightteeth]

hi drgnchsr36

Before I got invisalign, I used to drink about 5-6 cups of tea a day, and generally only 1 or 2 of those would be with a meal. I also used to have a mid-morning snack, and a mid-afternoon snack. If I was hitting the gym after work I would have a late afternoon snack also. If I got peckish in the evening I would have milk and cookies just before bed, or hot chocolate.

When I first got invisalign they were so tricky to take off, and everything was just so painful and weird, that I changed my eating habits totally in the first week.

Now I hardly drink tea - maybe just the one cup with one of the meals (and I rarely miss it actually, which was a surprise). I drink a lot more water. And I eat the same amount of food I used to, but in 3 meals only instead of 3 meals plus 2-3 snack times. Gym days are a challenge, and I cheat by drinking a chocolate soya milkshake through a straw before I go and leave my aligners in. They get a rinsing out with water but I don't brush them again until after my evening meal following gym.

I decided at the start of my treatment that when they got easier to take off, and when I was more used to the whole thing, I'd go back to snacking and take the extra teeth cleaning hit. As it is though, I'm almost 4 months in and I still haven't gone back to my old habits, and probably won't now until this treatment is done. A snack just doesn't seem as desireable when you know that straight after you are going to replace the taste with minty toothpaste! It just doesn't seem worth the hassle.

Mornings are the most difficult. I get sooooo hungry about an hour before its time for lunch. But that is something else I've gotten used to.

Good luck making your decision, I hope that my experience can help you decide!

[drgnchsr36]

Ah, thank you so much for sharing your experiences!!

Yeah, I drink tea throughout the day.. I guess it'd be different if I didn't have a desk job and wasn't so cold with the A/C. Water is good too. I just keep reading posts about people losing weight. Something I can't afford to do really.. and I don't eat really huge meals.

What happens if you don't brush your teeth right after a meal or snack? Twice as worse if you didn't have invisalign? I don't do that now. I brush them in the morning and night.

Thanks!!!

[sammywantstraightteeth]

For regular folks out there without invisalign or braces - brushing twice daily is fine as far as I know.

However with invisalign, the fact that you have plastic covering your teeth means that your saliva can't do its job of naturally offering some protection against bacteria and plaque build up, so its important to clean your teeth after meals and not leave sugar etc on them. Some people have reported a sudden cluster of cavaties during invisalign treatment.

I also have a desk job and I'm cold all year around due to the A/C. I did miss tea at first, but I hardly think about it now. I think it was more the 'tea break' than the tea itself I was missing. I fill up a 500ml water bottle about as often as I used to go get tea - so I still get the canteen social time when I go do that.

[drgnchsr36]

Ah, thanks for explaining that. I wasn't quite sure why it was so necessary.

I guess with braces it's not so bad.. except getting food stuck in the brackets.

The pros and cons of each. It's driving me bonkers! :p

But, thank you for the information!!

I don't think I'd miss getting the tea, but I would miss the warm liquid that's not just water. Doesn't sound so appealing. But, the idea of not cutting up my mouth also sounds more appealing to me...

[KUMonkeyMomma]

I used to be a big snacker too. I thought it would be really hard to not have those snacks or have to take them out to eat then brush, etc.

I don't drink a ton of coffee/tea but I do have a couple cups in the morning (and occasionally some tea at night when it's cold or I'm not feeling well, etc). I've never liked mine really hot anyhow so I would just let it cool down and drink it with my aligners in, then go rinse really well (both teeth and aligners) and pop them back in. I did the same if I wanted to drink a clear sugar free soda like ginger ale or lemon lime, etc (I didn't drink cola's or dark soda's tho). I found that as long as I was strict about soaking them in a cleaner every few days (something that you would soak dentures in - and they have one especially for clear aligners too but haven't used it) it kept any stains off from the tea/coffee - I never noticed any appreciative cloudiness or change in color during the 3 weeks of wear (I am on 3 week per tray but most are 2 weeks per tray). So you might be able to get away with drinking some teas or soda while they are in as long as you make sure to clean them after and soak them now and then.

As for the snacking - I would have a light snack/breakfast with my first cup of coffee at work and brush after and that was usually good enough to get me to lunch most days. I used to eat a light lunch and then a snack between lunch and dinner, but after getting invisalign I just added the snack onto the end of lunch or ate more for lunch to hold me over longer. Most days that seems to work ok. I do the same for dinner - I add the later snack or dessert with or shortly after dinner.

On occasion when I either can't/don't eat enough for a meal to carry me over I have taken out the aligners and drank a smoothie type drink and then gave a real good rinse with some mouthwash to get anything out from between my teeth since it's mostly liquid yogurt/milk anyhow. Not perfect and not something I'd recommend a couple times a day but something in a pinch or a few times during a week probably won't hurt if you make sure to rinse well after drinking it.

I was actually hoping I'd lose while doing treatment, but so far I haven't lost much since I tend to make up for my snacks with my meals.

Just some thoughts/ideas - most not advisable by an ortho or dentist but I know there are at least a few of us here that drink coffee or other drinks with them in with no problems.

[drgnchsr36]

thank you for sharing!! I appreciate it.