What You Should Know About Wearing Aligners

What You Should Know About Wearing Aligners : Aligners offer you a comfortable and convenient way to fix teeth or jaw alignment. They’re easier to clean and maintain, yet harder for others to see – allowing you to smile worry-free as they pull your teeth into place. However, it’s vital to be informed about any dental or orthodontic treatment you plan on receiving to ensure you get the proper treatment for your issues.

In this article, we’ll dive into five things you should know about teeth aligners.

You’ll have to wear them most of the day

Typically, you must wear teeth aligners 20 to 22 hours per day for the treatment to progress properly. The only times you can remove them are to eat meals, clean the devices and your teeth, and participate in contact sports or other activities that could damage them. Failing to wear them 20 to 22 hours per day could cause your treatment to slow down.
Results can be faster than braces

People generally have to wear braces for at least 18 to 24 months to achieve the results they need, but often longer than that. On the other hand, aligners may only take 12 months to complete treatment. Depending on your current teeth alignment, it could be even faster.
You can get several aligners to wear

Aligner treatment involves several sets of aligners. Each one is slightly closer to your ideal tooth alignment, letting you progress over time. You wear one set of top and bottom aligners for as long as your provider recommends – usually one to two weeks. At the end of that time, your teeth will likely be in their new position based on this set of aligners.

Then, you can move on to the next set of aligners, which are slightly closer to your end goal. These begin slowly shifting your teeth yet again. You continue to do this throughout your treatment until you’ve gone through every set.
You may have minor speech differences at first

One significant benefit of aligners is their slimmer profile and invisibility compared to braces. This makes it easier to go about your day without many differences in how you smile or talk. However, you and others may notice a minor difference in your speech at first. You may also notice your mouth watering more for a bit.

This is totally fine and normal, as it takes a bit to get used to wearing a device over your teeth, and your mouth naturally produces more saliva in response to a foreign object. Many patients get used to these minor differences within a week or two and manage to return to normal speech and saliva production.
You must remove them to eat or participate in certain activities

You need to make sure you take your aligners out for eating because attempting to eat with them will result in repeated biting of the aligners. Aside from dirtying the aligners, this can damage them.

Similarly, you should take them out for activities where they risk getting damaged. For instance, you should take them out before playing sports. Even if the sport doesn’t involve getting hit in the mouth, you may unknowingly bite down on your aligners during intense physical exertion.

Conclusion

Aligners can be an excellent treatment option for many dental patients. They’re removable for easy eating and cleaning, and virtually invisible as well. You must progress through each set as instructed by your provider and wear them 20 to 22 hours per day, only removing them for eating, cleaning, and risky activities.

You may have minor speech differences and increased saliva production initially, but sticking to the plan and caring for your aligners will help you stay on track and correct misalignment faster than traditional braces.