What can you eat and drink?
The Invisalign Diet: A common phrase among Invisalign wearers, but it’s not quite what it seems.
You can eat and drink just about anything you want.
However, for Invisalign to do its job, you have to dedicate at least 20 hours a day to wearing your aligners. To avoid getting any decay, you need to remove the aligners when eating, and make sure you clean your teeth and your aligners immediately after eating.
This means, seriously planning your meal times; you have 4 hours each day.
This is where the term ‘Invisalign diet’ comes from; many wearers find they lose weight during their aligner wearing days because suddenly, you don’t have the freedom to eat at any time you want.
You have to really think about the consequences of not wearing your aligners for enough time due to your eating habits.
Instead of thinking about grabbing a snack while going to pay for the petrol, you must think about having to take out your aligners, and then finding somewhere to quickly clean/rinse your teeth afterwards.
Suddenly, that Kit-Kat isn’t worth the time.
What can I consume with my aligner in?
It’s best to consume as little as possible while wearing your aligner.
When it comes to liquids, you can drink water with your aligners on, but any other liquid could potentially cause decay to your teeth if you do not clean/rinse your teeth and aligners afterwards. Therefore, to avoid the risk of getting decay, any liquid apart from water should be avoided while wearing aligners.
For example, if you love your coffee, with only 4 hours a day, you’ll have to either drink your coffee while you eat your breakfast, or quickly have a cup during morning tea. Sadly, you can’t continuously sip it throughout the day.
How can I benefit from this?
For some this is a great test, as it’s almost like a detox or a little awakening for the habits you never thought you had.
A major advantage is that wearing your aligners makes you more aware of what food and drinks are bad for your teeth and potentially stops you from consuming them. Therefore, when your Invisalign treatment is completed, you’ll not only have straight, but also a set of strong and healthy teeth.