Snacking is important when a regular scheduled meal isn’t on the agenda.
Yesterday I experienced my first weekend with Invisalign. The fixtures did not prove to be completely distracting from the day but they impacted it significanly enough that I knew I had to say something about them.
Just before emma and I left the apartment she mentioned the idea of eating on the road becuase we were running a few minutes later than we’d planned. I reminded her that I kind of couldn’t do that easily. And so began the day of snacking and Invisalign.
Adhering to a schedule five (5) days a week is relatively easy and thus impacts the Invisalign experience minimally. The weekend proved itself less compatible.
The troubles I faced were:
- hunger
- food stuck on the teeth
- a slightly raised/loose fixture
- and a sticky/slimey feeling
When you’re hungry you should eat. Especially is yo haven’t eaten in a long time and you want to ravish any food around. After reading a play (out loud with other actors) called “Us” at a teachers home in Brooklyn, I found myself to be VERY hungry. I could have nibbled earlier but choose not to because of the Invisalign hassle.
After I snacked I did my best to remove as much of the food from my teeth but without a toothbrush… Well. Yea.
And so I realized a short time later that the upper fixture felt looser than normal. No doubt it’s due to the food stuck in my teeth. I thought. Not much I could do at the time so I kept sucking out the air and saliva from the upper fixture hoping it would feel tighter. Keeping with the schedule it was off to visit a friend since we were in Brooklyn.
While there we ate some more – snacks again. These foods were less sticky so I think it helped to remove some of the previous food.
On the way home, after the bruschetta, tortilla chips, and chocolate, my teeth felt awful. Or it may have been the fixtures. I couldn’t tell. Regardless I needed to clean them in a big way. And boy did I!
Here’s the time-line.
- Left the apartment just before noon.
- Lunch snacked at 3:30ish
- Dinner snacked from 5:30ish-6:00ish
- Dinner at 7:00ish
Here’s how I cleaned the fixtures:
- Put the fixtures into a cup with Efferdent
- Flossed my teeth
- Brushed my teeth
- Rinsed with Listerine
- Rinsed off the fixtures
- Brushed the fixtures
- Re-inserted the fixtures
Wow did it feel good! Scouts honor. Seriously x 10. They felt secure and everything felt clean. I think I’m going to buy a small toothbrush to put into my carry around bag for times like yesterday. I figure better safe brushed than sorry.
Did the efferdent work? My orthodontist said to NOT use it ~but I feel that just brushing the aligners isn’t getting them clean enough.
The have worked quiet well in my opinion. I also believe that brushing the aligners is important too – depending on what you eat throughout the day. 😉
I found that brushing the aligners did something strange to my fingers too, drying them out, so the efferdent was a nice break.
One more thought – Invisalign makes/provides an efferdent cleaner. Ask your DDS/orthodontist for some packets. They take a LONG time but maybe that will make him/her and you happy!