Halloween kicks off the holiday season with fun festivities and irresistible sweet treats and candy. If this is your first year experiencing it with Invisalign aligners, you’ll want to take some precautionary measures to make sure you don’t accidentally damage a tray or compromise your oral health. These issues can set back your treatment, making you have to wait even longer to enjoy your straightened smile. Read on for four helpful tips to keep your Invisalign treatment on the right track after Halloween.
1. Eat All of Your Favorite Foods. Just Exercise Caution!
One of the best benefits of choosing Invisalign over traditional braces is that you won’t have to stop eating all of your favorite foods and snacks, especially during the holidays! Because your trays are removable, they won’t be affected by sticky, hard, or chewy foods. However, it’s still important to exercise caution by avoiding ones that could potentially damage a tooth or cause dental problems to arise, like cavities. It’s best to steer clear of jawbreakers, lollipops, and other candy that’s excessively hard or coats your mouth in sugar for a longer period of time.
2. Enjoy Sweets During Regular Mealtimes
Although it may be tempting to snack on leftover Halloween candy each day, regularly exposing your mouth to sugar doesn’t give your saliva a chance to rinse it away and limit bacteria accumulation. With time, this can lead to a build-up of plaque and tartar and cause cavities to develop. By eating candy and desserts with your regular meals, you can help your saliva be more productive, allowing it to wash away food debris that can lead to declining oral health.
3. Don’t Let Your Dental Hygiene Routine Slip to the Wayside
Halloween marks the beginning of the busy holiday season. As you’re planning family dinners and friendsgivings, it’s important not to let your oral hygiene routine get lost in the planning. To maintain healthy teeth and gums while you’re undergoing Invisalign treatment, you’ll want to thoroughly clean your trays at least once a day, rinse them after every time they come out of your mouth, and brush and floss your teeth after each meal. This will keep sugars from becoming trapped between your teeth and trays, leading to issues like gum disease.
4. Remember to Stay Hydrated with Water
Do you like to sip on sports drinks and other sugary beverages throughout the day to stay hydrated? Try substituting water, as it can help minimize the accumulation of sugar within your mouth as well as serve a positive purpose of rinsing away cavity-causing food debris. If you aren’t a fan of water, you can always opt to add a sugar-free flavor additive!
About the Practice
At Pelican Landing Dental, our amazing team of six skilled and knowledgeable dentists are able to offer all of the services your family needs under one convenient roof, including Invisalign! Many of our dentists are Invisalign-certified and have helped hundreds of patients work towards their smile goals using this modern orthodontic solution. For questions or to learn whether you’re a good candidate, visit our website or call 239-766-6311.
