Whether you’re a parent or a child, you may be excited for Halloween. That’s only natural – the scary holiday is only a few days away now! If you have clear aligners, though, you might wonder how to handle the festivities. You wouldn’t want your spooky evening to ruin your trays or vice-versa. Luckily, your Silver Spring dentist can offer some guidance. To that end, here are three helpful tips on surviving Halloween with Invisalign aligners.
Be Careful with Candy
True enough, there aren’t food restrictions for Invisalign patients. The trays leave you free to eat all your favorite treats. Still, you’d best be careful when eating your Halloween candy.
You see, there’s a chance you’ll re-insert the aligners while sugar is on your teeth. Should that happen, you’ll trap tooth-decaying substances on your smile. You’d then put yourself at major risk of cavities.
Given these facts, always clean your teeth after eating your candy. You can then put your Invisalign trays back on without worry.
Time Your Treats
During Halloween, you might feel tempted to snack on candy for hours. However, this action isn’t a smart move if you’re doing Invisalign.
Remember: clear aligners must be worn for 20-22 hours daily. When you factor in three meals and two cleaning sessions, you don’t have much wiggle room for snacking. As such, you’ll need to make smart choices about how much candy you eat and when.
Ideally, you would eat your Halloween treats at normal mealtimes. Doing so would take advantage of the extra saliva in your mouth. As this substance builds up, it can wash away harmful bacteria.
Don’t Be Sneaky
It may seem harmless to eat a little candy while wearing Invisalign trays. Truthfully, though, you’d destabilize your treatment if you did.
If you don’t already know, you shouldn’t wear Invisalign aligners during meals. Your bite force can crack and otherwise damage them. From there, you’ll face treatment delays while your dentist finds a replacement tray.
Before you eat Halloween candy (or anything else), see if your trays are still in your mouth. In case they are, remove them so your brief snack won’t ruin the aligners.
Remember to Rinse
After you’ve eaten some candy, don’t just clean your teeth with a brush. Remember to also wash your snack down with a glass of water.
Again, sugary sweets attract harmful bacteria. These microbes will decay your teeth if left alone. Thankfully, water would wash them away! Drinking it would remove nasty germs that your toothbrush might’ve missed. As a result, you wouldn’t trap tooth-eroding materials by wearing your aligners.
By following these tips, you’ll easily survive Halloween with Invisalign. You can then expect your aligned smile to arrive on time!
About the Practice
The Dental Center of Aspen Hill is based in Silver Spring, MD. Led by its amazing dentists, our practice provides patient-oriented dentistry. We thus offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative services, as well as emergency dental care. Our team also prides itself on being a certified provider of both Invisalign® clear aligners and FastBraces. For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (301)-871-6660.