don't have time to brush your teeth when you are out?

[TinySmiley]

hi everyone,
i am going to start my 1st treatment of refinements. The first time around, when I was out, if I didn't have enough time to thoroughly brush my teeth, I would wait until I got home.
I think I wasted a lot of time without aligners on by doing that, so i was wondering what do you guys do if you don't have enough time to brush your teeth thoroughly while you are out?
just a quick rinse with water? is a quick brush with toothpaste enough? etc??
thanks for any advice you can give me.

[cuteirka]

You don't have to brush your teeth after every time you eat. I almost always do, but if I don't have time, i just quickly floss, rinse my mouth and pop them back on, then brush when I get a chance.

[Wireless]

This is one of the problems with Invisalign and an active lifestyle. In my case, this includes traveling and bicycling. There are many times I rinse out my mouth and aligners and keep going until I can brush later. I've had to do this with other ortho stuff as well - I now have a combination of Essix retainers and elastics.

Neither my dentist or orthodontist have noted any problems - I've been in treatment about 2 years.

[TinySmiley]

thanks for the replies

when you guys say you rinse out your mouth, is it just with water? or mouthwash?

that's great that just by rinsing out your mouth it helps a lot; and still you don't get cavities.

[Wireless]

I just use water. If there is a restroom available, I take my trays out and rinse them.

The hardest places for me are on airplanes and bicycling. When I'm traveling, I take an empty water bottle through security and then fill it at a water fountain inside the secured area for drinking and rinsing. I don't rinse with water in the lavatory as it frequently is not for drinking.

When I'm cycling, I do drink Gatorade, but also have a water bottle to rinse my mouth with. When I get home, I brush then.

Neither my dentist or orthodontist have noticed any problems (although any docs reading this are probably cringing!!). I've been in treatment for 2 years now and my dental checkups are better now than before I started. Im hoping to finish in a few months and get life back to normal.

[TinySmiley]

thanks Wireless

[ohioinvisguy]

when i first started invisalign i also was waiting until i could brush before putting my aligners back in. now if i am out eating and cant brush/floss, i too rinse well with water, reinsert and brush when i can. i dont know what effect this has had cavity wise, since i've only been in treatment since august (my next cleaning is in december). i'll see how it goes and post an update afterwards!

[sammywantstraightteeth]

I've also used the method of rinsing my mouth and aligners and popping them back in until I can get home and brush. I decided that it was better than leaving them out for long periods of time. I can't see how this can do any harm to the teeth if they only go unbrushed for 30-60 minutes. Any longer than that I'd start to worry though.

I'm due my first cleaning next week after 4 months of invisalign - so we'll see!

[montygrace]

I have only had mine on for a week, and have decided that it's too hard when I'm out on weekends to brush properly in the toilet, without water, so from now on I just use my interdental brush to remove food particles, rinse my mouth thoroughly and my aligners, and pop them back in. It looks less odd to be rinsing / drinking at the public bathroom basin than brushing and flossing. lol

[steven]

Yes it is enough if you don't have time. But at that moment you have salt mixed it with water then rinse the water. It is more beneficial.

[paull]

So long as you brush and floss twice a day i've found its okay to just rinse after meals. Carrying a brush and paste around with you 24/7 is a pain