Guidelines on the use of aligners

Dear patient! To achieve the expected, high-quality results from your orthodontic treatment with aligners, please follow the recommendations below.

Wearing schedule

Wear the aligners for 20–22 hours a day. You should remove the aligners:

• whilst eating;
• when consuming hot or sweet drinks, or alcohol;
• when brushing your teeth and cleaning the aligners.

Replacing aligners

Change your aligners as recommended by your dentist (usually, one set of aligners should be worn for 7, 10 or 14 days, depending on the complexity of the tooth movements).

If you lose an aligner, it is important to let your dentist know which day of the treatment schedule you were on; they will then provide personalised advice on what to do in this situation.

It is best to put on a new pair in the evening before going to bed (this is the longest period you’ll spend wearing the aligner, allowing it to work most effectively).

When you put on a new aligner, it may not fit snugly at first, as your teeth need time to move. For a better fit, use a rubber block (‘chewies’). Place it between the aligners and bite down on it so that the aligners sit fully on the attachments.

Fitting the aligner

First, identify which is the upper aligner and which is the lower one. Position the aligner so that each tooth is aligned with its corresponding slot in the aligner. Press down halfway in the front teeth area, then in the back teeth area, so that the aligner sits fully on the teeth. If necessary, use a rubber ‘chewie’ to help the aligners settle into place.

Removing the aligner

You may need to use a special hook to remove the aligners. Start by removing them from the side teeth (you can do this one at a time, starting with the right and then the left side), and leave the front teeth until last.

Place the hook on the palatal (or lingual) side in the area of the back molars. Slip the hook under the edge of the aligner, press downwards (or upwards if it is the lower jaw), and then outwards so that the aligner can slide past the attachments fixed to the outer surface of the tooth.

Hygiene

• Be sure to brush your teeth before putting the aligners back in.
• Aligners must be rinsed with cool water and cleaned with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Do not use hot water – this may warp the aligners.
• Two to three times a week (or more if necessary), you can use aligner cleaning foam or ‘Corega’ or ‘Vitis’ cleaning tablets.

Diet

You must not, whilst wearing your aligners:

• eat food;
• drink fresh-squeezed juices or sweet fizzy drinks (the acids in these drinks can damage tooth enamel), coffee or tea with sugar, or hot drinks.

You may:

• drink water, lukewarm coffee and tea without sugar whilst wearing your aligners.

Frequent consumption of coffee and tea may cause your aligners to discolour. You should rinse your mouth with water after drinking.

Storage

Store your aligners only in the special container provided. Do not wrap them in napkins – you may lose them, damage them or accidentally throw them in the bin (in a restaurant, a waiter might take them away with the other napkins).

Discomfort

In the first few days after replacing the aligners, you may experience pressure or discomfort – this is a normal reaction. During this time, you may take painkillers to relieve any pain, provided there are no contraindications. After taking a painkiller, the general discomfort will subside, but pain whilst chewing may persist.

If you experience severe pain, chafing or damage to the aligner, please contact your dentist. When you first start using the aligners, you may notice changes in your speech or increased salivation. Once you have adapted to the aligners, these symptoms will subside, but minor changes in speech may persist until the end of treatment.

Attachments, elastics, additional components

If your dentist has prescribed the use of elastics, follow the instructions for their use.

If an attachment has come loose from a tooth, contact your dentist to have it refixed (if necessary). Do not attempt to remove attachments yourself.

Check-up appointments

Attend your check-up appointments on the scheduled dates. Missing scheduled appointments may affect the duration of your treatment.

Important

Smoking whilst wearing aligners is not recommended, as this can cause the aligners to become misshapen, lead to plaque build-up on them and increase the risk of gum inflammation.

Insufficient wear of the aligners can lead to:

• poor fit of the aligners and, as a result, poor tooth movement;
• the need to remake the aligners;
• an extension of the treatment period.

Following the initial set of aligners, in 95 per cent of clinical cases an additional corrective set (or several) is produced to fine-tune the position of the teeth. This occurs even when the patient adheres perfectly to the recommendations and is due to the specific nature of tooth movement.