5 Tips for Surviving Your First Week of Invisalign

So, you’ve finally started Invisalign and have realised it’s not as plain sailing as you thought! Just kidding, it’s all worth it in the end, but it is hard work. You’ll be wearing your aligners for 22+ hours a day, which is a BIG commitment. Check out these 5 tips I learnt along the way which might help you achieve a little more comfort:

1. The dreaded lisp

Everyone is different and some people may experience a really small lisp during the first few weeks of wearing Invisalign. I did! I probably felt like it was worse than it actually was, as a lot of people didn’t notice. Try and talk (or sing!) lots when driving or on your own, just to get used to having two foreign pieces of plastic in your mouth!

2. Be prepared

Be prepared with a small travel bag and at the very least have a toothbrush, toothpaste and chewies on you for the majority of the time. I have a couple of sets and leave one at home, one at work and one in my handbag.

3. Treat your pain and discomfort

The first 2 weeks is generally the most painful. Experiencing a little bit of pain is completely normal, you are after all applying force on your teeth to move and align them. The way I deal with aching or pain is by taking two paracetamol or Ibuprofen. Also, always change your aligners on a night time, before bed, as they will settle in whilst you sleep.

4. Ditch the snacks

Honestly, ditch the snacks and just stick to your 3 meals a day. You will quickly learn that taking your Invisalign out, eating your crisps, brushing your teeth, cleaning your aligners, then putting them back in is just too much hard work. On the plus side, this can help with weight loss woooop its win, win! I’ve learnt to add Invisalign wear into my daily routine and I have my breakfast, lunch and tea at set times, which really helps me achieve maximum wear time.

5. Protect your tongue and mouth

At first, the plastic edges of your aligners may irritate your tongue and mouth. Sores and cuts are common early in the journey, but I PROMISE your mouth will toughen up and learn to cope. Use a small amount of dental wax to cover sharp edges. Roll it into a little ball and pop it on the spikey bits. If this doesn’t do the trick, you can try to gently file sharp edges down with an emery board or nail file.