-Though its matter of few months you have to maintain your oral hygiene as well as keep the aligners clean which will help to maintain the aligners free of odors and invisible as desired.

-As when aligners are not cleaned properly the bacteria accumulate causing poor hygiene.

-As you are going to wear aligners for more than 20 hours in a day you should have the habit of cleaning the aligners twice daily including brushing and flossing of your teeth.

-As the aligners are changed after every 15 days of week they don’t have any chance to discolor but it might stain which is why you need to take care of them and take out while eating drinking and brushing.

-For cleaning of aligner trays there are some basic cleaning solutions:

a)     Aligner Cleanser Tablets:

You need to soak the aligner in aligner cleanser at least once in a week. The aligners need to be soaked in water dissolved with one aligner cleaning tablet in water for 15-20 minutes. Avoid using warm or hot water as it can misshapen the aligners.

b)    Cleansing Crystals:

These cleansing solution contains sodium sulfate which is an accessible alternative which needs to be dissolve in water and soak your aligners in.

c)     White Foam Aligner Cleaner:

It’s easy to use without any worry about spending more time in cleaning as you just need to Spray small quantity of this foam on your inner side of aligners, brush it gently with soft bristle toothbrush and rinse thoroughly which will help to have fresh feeling in the mouth and help to feel more confident with happy smile with aligners.

-You should avoid following cleansers for cleaning as they are simply too harsh or can cause damage to your aligners:

·       Denture cleaners

·       Mouthwashes

·       Toothpaste

-The decision to get aligners to realign the teeth requires to maintain the oral hygiene to achieve the best possible results.

-The guidelines of brushing your teeth with aligners is same as compared to braces.

-You need to brush your teeth twice daily. As aligners are removable so you have to take out your aligner tray prior to brushing your teeth which makes easier to brush and clean your aligners.

-Use soft bristle toothbrush to clean your aligners because you don’t want your aligners to have scratches.

-Toothbrush has soft fine bristles arranged in circular manner with around 10-12 tufts on it.

It looks different from the one used for cleaning teeth where the bristles are arranged back to back in horizontal manner.

-As brushing is the key to remove the accumulated particles throughout the day. Apply gentle pressure to aligner tray while cleaning and make sure you brush gently on both the inner as well as the outer surfaces of aligners and Rinse with water thoroughly. Brush and floss your teeth before you put your aligners back in.

Avoid losing your aligner trays. To prevent losing your aligners recommends it’s advised to make a habit of keeping your aligners in the aligner case or container or in your purse/ pocket as most of the time there are chances of your aligner trays getting lost when you’re eating out at a restaurant.

If the aligner trays are misplaced you should do the following:

·       Try in Other Aligners

Depending on which aligner tray you worn on when you lost the aligner tray you may either go into your next set of aligners or have to revert back to your previous stage of aligners you had worn right before you lost your aligner tray. Wear whichever ones fits better, wear those because anything is better than nothing. When you put your next aligner make sure it fits properly if it’s not fitting properly avoid forcing the aligner trays as it indicates that your lost aligner weren’t done doing their job. So you need to wear your previous clear aligners. Before you try to determine that you are ready to move onto your next set of aligner you need to contact your dentist so he will be able to track with your treatment plan. You have to wear your previous set of aligners until you get your new set of aligners. This is the main reason you should always keep your last set of aligners as you will always have chance to have something to go back and avoid any drift and tooth movement.

·       Come to See The Orthodontist

It’s always best to call your dentist the moment you lost your aligner tray or it will be at risk moving your teeth and delaying the treatment. For evaluation you need to visit your dentist so he/ she will assess your teeth and determine what steps need to be taken to get back on track. There might be need to order another set of trays. The treatment may be delayed or altered at the most a few weeks. So always keep your aligner case everywhere with you.

-The aligners are made of a flexible plastic material and fabricated to fit each person’s mouth. Each aligner moves the teeth a little bit more into place until desired movement is completed.

-Zero aligners are part of set of aligners this are given to ease your way into the treatment and to check the accuracy of the impressions. It is a passive aligner customized to fit your teeth in right way to get accustomed to the further set of aligners i.e. to get use to wear your aligners in no time.

-Zero stage aligner need to be check on patient’s mouth for proper fit. If the fitting is proper than the lab can proceed with the fabrication of the further set of aligners.

-When you will be contented by the fit of zero stage aligners the assembling process starts.

-The zero stage aligner should be worn at least 20- 22 hours in a day for 15 days with the exception of consumption of beverages and food.

-Patient should gently place the aligner tray by pushing the clear aligner first over their anterior teeth and then place the tray on their posterior molar teeth applying equal pressure using their fingertips to place the aligner into the place.

-Similarly while removing the aligner tray use the fingertips on the inner side of right and left posterior teeth to pull down the aligner tray slowly and continue prying the aligner away from the front teeth.

-No consumption of food and drinks should be done while aligner is placed in the mouth. Always remove the aligner tray while eating, drinking and brushing your teeth. Drinking normal temperature water with aligners is perfectly fine.

-While eating or drinking store your aligner in aligner case.

-Aligner is an excellent option for straightening of teeth, but sometimes it can cause mild discomfort or soreness.

-Usually the discomfort is very less compared to traditional braces and can vary in intensity from person to person.

-Aligners are comfortable and have ability to undergo orthodontic care without any hassle which are best alternative to traditional braces which shift the teeth gradually over period of time.

-Compared to traditional braces aligner trays don’t have any brackets or wires which causes discomfort after tightening but patient might experience mild headache in initial period of use of aligner tray and will feel discomfort which will subside after few days as mouth need’s time to adjust to the new aligners.

-When patient gets a new aligner set or when switching to new set of aligner tray they might feel tight and stiff for first few days as the teeth begins to move which causes muscular contraction and strain on jaw which leads temporary discomfort and mild headache.

- Wear your clear aligners as much as possible which will allow your teeth to shift sooner and help the aligner do its work in the first few days itself.

-This is usually a general awareness that something is different and usually will resolve within some days.

-If the headache last more than few days intake of combiflam or over the counter pain relievers can be taken to relieve the tension headaches caused after initial use of aligner trays.

-Bruxism is the term used for clenching or night grinding of your teeth. This condition is present and affects both in kids as well as in adults.

-If bruxism is frequent and violent it might cause jaw disorders, headache and may even damage the teeth leading to severe problems.

-Abnormal alignment of upper and lower teeth malocclusion may contribute to this problem.

-In this case Clear aligners will protect your teeth from grinding as well as simultaneously align your teeth which are misaligned at the same time and convert way to improve your smile.

-Proper alignment of your teeth will relieve the pressure on jaw and will eliminate the cause.

-Aligners adjusts the bite permanently and minimizes pain in jaw by eliminating it. It can reprogram the muscles which are involved in the teeth grinding.

-To get the most benefits from aligners to relieve the symptoms of grinding you need to wear the aligner trays as instructed for more than 22 hours in a day regularly.

-Aligner trays work well as a night guard replacement as they have less jaw tension and smoothly glide against each other.

-Aligner treatment is less painful as compared to braces but patient may experience some degree of pain or discomfort during aligner treatment because aligner causes tension on teeth.

-As the changes between aligner sets are small, the treatment with the clear aligner technology tends to be gentle and comfortable.

-Aligner may rarely have any effect on vitality of the teeth but it’s always better to complete root canal treatment and composite fillings which are significantly decayed or infected before starting aligner treatment. So that the patient don’t have any pain caused by the tooth infection during aligner treatment.

-And the second reason to do the treatment prior clear aligners is as clear aligners are made in tray pattern which fits your teeth like a second skin, if you undergo any dental treatment which will alter your teeth shape the aligners will be unable to fit properly or at all this will cause big impact on your treatment.

 -The pressure applied by clear aligners is comparatively milder than the traditional braces. Hence, you can get your straight and beautiful smile without any pain.

-Clear aligners are designed to make small movements at a time, by putting light pressure on your teeth. This pressure is transferred through the roots of your teeth to your jaws.

-Most cases patients might have pain and discomfort on placement of first aligner tray or when aligner trays are changed about every two weeks which will be minor and will subside within few days.

-Some patients may feel discomfort throughout treatment for that there are ways to help reduce pain and make treatment more comfortable:

·       Pain medications if necessary might require if the pain persist.

·       Cold compress

·       Drink cold water

·       If gums are swollen try to avoid hard food stuff

·       Sharp or rough aligner edges can be smoothened

·       If the pain or discomfort is long lasting or persistent during aligner treatment tell the patient to visit their dentist and speak about it.

- Clear aligners are custom made, plastic trays made up of thermoplastic material which is a reliable solution that are crafted to move your teeth in desired position. The aligner trays are nontoxic as they are BPA free (Bisphenol A) which makes the aligners completely safe. As there is no presence of BPA there are no chances of BPA content seepage into the mouth.

 - It uses thin transparent plastic shells to move     teeth in smaller increments when worn regularly.

-It’s very rare that patients experience allergic reaction to clear aligners but patient’s having susceptibility for sensitivity to plastic can have allergic reaction to clear aligners. It’s always important to inform your dentist if you have an allergy to plastic because this allergic reaction can cause mild to severe symptoms like itching sensation on gums or soft tissues or burning sensation in the mouth.

The material used to fabricate aligners irritates the soft tissue and affects the production of saliva in patients having allergy to plastic and which leads insufficient saliva in mouth and causes sensitivity to surrounding soft tissues of mouth

If your allergy are mild what to do….

·       Always make sure your aligner trays are bacteria free and keep the aligners in aligner case.

·       Drink plenty of water which will stimulate saliva and will help to keep your mouth moist and clean.

Clear aligners are innovation in dentistry, by taking little effort and giving proper attention you can keep your teeth healthy and clear aligners looking new.

Even though you wear a set of aligners for only couple of weeks you still need to take proper care of them.

-        Clear aligners are removable as they are designed in tray pattern which can be placed or removed when needed.

-        The greatest perk of aligners is that you can eat whatever your heart desires with clear aligners without restricting your diet. There is no food restrictions as there is no barrier on your teeth while eating in clear aligners.

-        But if you don’t remove the aligner trays while having any drink or food that can stain your teeth than your aligners might get stained and discolored. Which makes clear aligners visible if stained.

-        The certain products that stain your aligner:

·       Dark chocolates

·       Dark beverages such as coffee and tea

·       Red wine

·       Mustard

·       Turmeric amount in foods

·       Colored mouthwash

·       Some of the acidic drinks which may stain the aligners are orange juice, lemonade and white wine which weaken the tooth enamel layer making more prone to stain and cavities.

·       When it comes to alcohol limit the intake of such with aligners in mouth as it contains high sugar which will destroy the tooth enamel.

-If you don’t brush or floss thoroughly and regularly after you eat any food than the food particles which remain on your teeth surfaces may leave mark on your clear aligners and cause discoloration.

-It’s not just food and drinks which discolor the clear aligners. Sometimes the discoloration may be caused due to natural staining agents present in the mouth such as:

-The saliva which contains mucus, proteins and enzymes in small amount that can stain the aligner and turn yellowish.

-The plaque film which is formed by the bacteria containing sugary foods which can be harden into calculus and gets transferred on clear aligners discoloring it.

-It should go without saying that smoking and chewing tobacco during your clear aligner treatment can also stain the aligners.

-So you simply need to take your aligners while consuming any beverages and eating and maintain the oral hygiene by brushing and flossing regularly.