What to expect after fitting of your Aligners
comfort
Your aligners will feel unfamiliar at first and take one or two days to get used to. You may notice more saliva than usual in your mouth when first wearing your aligners, this will return to normal within one or two days. You may find that your speech, particularly with regard to ‘S’ sounds, might be altered slightly when first wearing your aligners. This returns to normal quite quickly with practice of speaking as you get used to your aligners. Usually when changing to new aligners they will feel ‘tight’. It is less common, but still possibly, that an ‘achy’ sort of discomfort will develop in the teeth as they start to move. This will usually return to normal within one or two days. If required you can take pain killers to help (same as for a headache; ibuprofen or paracetamol).
Hours of wear
It is important to wear your aligners as much as is possible to ensure efficient and effective tooth movement. Aligners should be worn both at day time and night time, for a minimum of 22 hours in every 24 hour period. Aligners should be taken out for brush your teeth, for eating and for drinking anything other than plain water. Aligners should also be removed if playing contact sports or swimming. When aligners are not being worn they should be kept in your aligner box for safe keeping. Assuming full time wear of your aligners you should change to a new set of aligners as advised by your orthodontist (usually this will be every one to two weeks).
Brushing and hygiene
Oral hygiene when wearing aligners is very important. The primary way of cleaning your aligners is by placing them under cold running water and brushing them using a toothbrush (either manual or electric). It is better not to use toothpaste to clean your aligners (please still use toothpaste to clean your teeth), soap can be used as an alternative and the aligner cleaning crystals supplied in your aligner pack can also be used. A travel toothbrush can be helpful to have to had when out of the house as it is helpful to brush your teeth following eating as food can otherwise become stuck in/around your aligners when you replace them after eating.
Breakages or loss of aligners
Occasionally, usually when biting on something hard, one of your attachments might break. If this happens it is best to contact the clinic, and if possible send a picture of the area where the attachment has broken, as an additional appointment may be necessary to have a new attachment placed reattached. If you are to misplace your aligners then you should move on to wearing the next set of aligners in you aligner sequence. This set of aligners should be worn for twice the usual time however (for example, two weeks rather than one week) before progressing with further aligners. If possible you should wear the most recent set of aligners which you have available to hold your current tooth positions whilst awaiting advice.
Next appointments
Your next appointment should be in 6-8 weeks’ time for review of your aligner wear and progress. This will be a much easier/shorter appointment than your aligner fitting appointment. If any questions, queries or concerns develop in the meantime please get in contact.
In summary, the first 1-3 days with aligners will take some getting used to in terms of both comfort and familiarity. Cleaning and caring for your teeth and aligners is very important and is something which you shall get adept and skilled with practice. As time goes by however you will become quite used to your aligners and you will be able to appreciate your progress with improvement in the position of your teeth and bite.