Wearing Invisalign? Learn my dentist-inspired routine for spotless aligners and cavity-proof teeth.
Part 1: Quick Aligner Clean Rinse in cold water post-removal. Brush gently with soft toothbrush and mild toothpaste.
Part 2: Decay-Fighting Hack Apply GC Tooth Mousse inside aligners before wear: It remineralizes enamel with calcium/phosphate, replaces saliva's role, and uses xylitol to battle bacteria.
Part 3: Dr. Ellie Phillips "Great 8" Essentials Closys rinse. Crest toothpaste brush. Listerine rinse. ACT fluoride rinse. Tooth Mousse on teeth, then in aligners.
Disclaimer: Informational only—not medical advice. Consult your dentist before new products or changes.
00:00In today's video, I'm going to be showing you how to keep your Invisalign Clear Aligners clean
00:06and also give you a fantastic hack that you can use to protect your teeth and keep them cavity free while you're wearing them.
00:30The good news is that studies have shown that you're not more likely to get cavities when you're wearing these clear aligners versus metal braces and in fact you're more likely to get cavities when you're wearing the metal braces and that's because your teeth are harder to clean.
00:56With these, you take them out to clean your teeth. So when you first take them out, rinse them in cold water. Don't use hot water because hot water can warp the plastic.
01:06And then once you've given them a rinse, just brush them exactly how you brush your teeth.
01:11So I use toothpaste on my electric toothbrush and I brush on the inside here, the outside, along the edges as well and I just give them a good brush.
01:22So why a brush and not just a rinse? Brushing literally brushes away any bacteria that might have gotten on these while you're wearing them.
01:31So the second thing, and this is a really, really good hack to protect your teeth and help remineralise them even while you're wearing them.
01:40And that is you can use a remineralising paste.
01:43So the one I use is GC Tooth Mousse and this is literally pushing calcium and phosphate back into your teeth to remineralise them.
01:54Because one risk that can arise from wearing these aligners is you can develop white spots, which is basically an area of your teeth that is beginning to demineralise or lose those minerals.
02:06And that's the precursor to then a cavity.
02:10So GC Tooth Mousse or a remineralising mousse or, you know, paste that you can use.
02:18The role of those is to act where your saliva also might be lacking a little bit.
02:23So if you've got dry mouth or, you know, any sort of hormonal changes, age changes,
02:29your saliva might not be as good as it should be, this does push those minerals back into your teeth.
02:38So a lot of people use GC Tooth Mousse or a remineralising mousse.
02:42And it can also help protect against acidity and keep your teeth stronger as a result.
02:50Don't use it though if you've got any sort of milk allergies because that's one of the key ingredients for this.
02:55So I first put GC Tooth Mousse on my teeth and then I will put a little bit of this mousse in the tray itself before popping them back in my mouth.
03:08So that is going to give you such good protection and it's actually a common practice and a common recommendation too to do this.
03:17Especially at night because the aligner is going to keep that beautiful mousse trapped against your teeth all night.
03:25So even if you're a snorer or you sleep with your mouth open and your mouth is really dry in the morning,
03:31these will help to protect your teeth while you sleep and even remineralise them.
03:37Now it's not recommended to use toothpaste.
03:41You can use toothpaste because toothpaste has obviously got that fluoride in it and we'll get to fluoride in a moment.
03:47But if you are going to use a little bit of toothpaste in there to help with that remineralisation,
03:53it's not recommended to use an abrasive toothpaste and it's also not recommended to use a whitening toothpaste.
04:00Because especially at night, if that's against your teeth for hours and hours and hours,
04:05it's likely going to make your teeth really sore and sensitive.
04:09So GC Tooth Mousse does have two versions.
04:13They've got a plus version as well.
04:15The plus version does also have some fluoride in it.
04:19So when you use fluoride in conjunction with a remineralising paste like GC Tooth Mousse,
04:25you're then helping the minerals that are contained in this actually go into your teeth and benefit them.
04:31So the trick I do, because I've only got the original, I don't have the one that contains fluoride,
04:36is I use a fluoride rinse before I put this on.
04:41So then my teeth are already coated with a little bit of fluoride from the rinse
04:45and that helps then obviously remineralise using this paste.
04:49So I'm going to walk you through my oral hygiene routine.
04:55I've got a fantastic routine that I got from a dentist called Dr. Ali Phillips
05:00and I've been using this for a long time.
05:03I'm really happy with it and I think it cleans my teeth really well.
05:06The other thing to say about this remineralising tooth mousse
05:10is that it also, this one contains, and the one with fluoride as well, contains xylitol
05:16and that's a very common ingredient in these tooth mousses
05:20because xylitol also acts as a carrier for minerals into your teeth
05:25and xylitol is also antibacterial for the nasty bacteria that lose in your teeth.
05:32So xylitol, it's like a sugar substitute, do look it up, it is a fantastic ingredient.
05:39So another thing I do, when I take these aligners out,
05:42I actually have a little bit of granular xylitol in my mouth
05:46because not only does it fight any bacteria in my mouth, but it also gets your saliva flowing.
05:51So that sort of moistens my mouth again after wearing these aligners.
05:56And also xylitol mints, I have xylitol mints and they are a staple.
06:01I've been using xylitol mints for quite a while.
06:04So the routine I use when I'm wearing these aligners is,
06:09I'll, well let's start with the morning.
06:12So I'll warm them all night.
06:14So in the morning, I've still got them on and I always start my morning with a cup of green tea,
06:20which I really always look forward to.
06:22And I put lemon in my green tea too.
06:24So the good news for me is that while I'm wearing these aligners,
06:28that might actually protect my teeth a little bit from the acidity
06:31because the lemon in my tea is acidic.
06:35It is acidic on your teeth.
06:37And I have been told to drink my tea with a straw
06:40to try and avoid the lemon hitting my teeth and also the tannins in tea.
06:45Stain your tea.
06:47But I can't give up my cup of green tea.
06:50I think the health benefits are way worth it.
06:52So basically the good news is though, while I'm wearing these aligners,
06:56I'm still using the straw,
06:58but these are going to further protect against any acidity and the tannins in tea.
07:03So I'm still wearing these when I have my cup of green tea.
07:06I'm still wearing them when I go for my power walk.
07:08But then when I finally take them off, it is such a relief.
07:13So I take them off just before I'm going to eat something.
07:15So then I'll have a little bit of granular xylitol just to moisten my mouth.
07:19I'll clean these.
07:20So I brush these twice a day.
07:23So I'll rinse them like I just said, you rinse them under cold water.
07:26I'll brush them and then I'll put them aside.
07:29Then I'll have something to eat.
07:30And then after eating, I always wait about 30 minutes before brushing my teeth.
07:34So during that time, I'm sucking on a xylitol mint and I'm just really trying to sort of re-mineralise my teeth.
07:41Then I'll brush my teeth and I'll use the routine that I'm about to show you.
07:45And then I'll pop these back in.
07:48And then, oh, sorry, I'll put tooth mousse on these first and then I'll pop them back in.
07:53So then the next meal is sort of lunch.
07:57But for me, it sort of pushes a little bit later into the day, like at about 1, 1.30.
08:02So then I'll take these out again.
08:04I'll just rinse them under cold water before sort of the midday meal.
08:10And then I'll eat as much as I'm going to eat.
08:12And then I'll rinse my mouth out with water really well because you want to get rid of any food particles.
08:20You don't want them trapped in these clear aligners, obviously.
08:24And then because it's not that many more hours till sort of evening and I'm going to brush my teeth again,
08:29I don't brush my teeth three times a day.
08:32But I will again put tooth mousse in before I pop them back in.
08:36And then the next time they come out is obviously before the evening meals.
08:41I'll take them out.
08:42And that's the point that I'll give these another brush.
08:46So like I said, I brush them twice a day.
08:49And I'll give these a brush, put them aside, have my evening meal, remineralize my teeth again,
08:55wait about half an hour before brushing.
08:58Then go through this very good system that I've got to keep my teeth clean
09:02and then put tooth mousse on again and then pop them back in.
09:06And they stay in all night.
09:09So I'll show you, I'll go through my routine of how to keep my teeth really clean.
09:16So I only floss once a day.
09:18So let's go through the morning routine.
09:21The morning routine and the evening routine is identical, except I will floss at night.
09:27First step, Klossies.
09:30This is the first rinse I use.
09:32Now Klossies goes for the, I think it's the anaerobic bacteria in your mouth that lives without oxygen.
09:41And Klossies is fantastic.
09:42It's, I think, a similar product to like a chlorine in your pool, I think my hubby said.
09:49But it is a fantastic rinse.
09:51I'm so addicted to Klossies.
09:52It leaves your mouth feeling really clean and fresh.
09:55And the good thing about Klossies is it leaves your mouth neutral as well.
10:00So I use Klossies first as a rinse and I'll rinse for probably a good 30 seconds to a minute, depending on time.
10:09Now, in between all these steps, I don't rinse with water.
10:12So I follow straight up after the Klossies with my electric toothbrush, which has been recommended to me,
10:19and Crest Toothpaste.
10:22So this is the formula that I did find from that dental site, Dr. Ali Phillips.
10:28So I brush with Crest Toothpaste.
10:31Next thing, I rinse with Listerine.
10:34Now, if Listerine is too strong for you, you can actually dilute it with water and it's still going to be good.
10:39So I rinse with Listerine, not for very long, like probably only about 30 seconds or so.
10:47And I don't wash off the toothpaste out of my mouth.
10:51I use this Listerine, this rinse, and that basically just gets rid of any toothpaste.
10:56And it also kills bacteria that attack your gums.
10:59So this is going to keep your gums nice and healthy.
11:03Don't overdo it, though.
11:04There are people that are not fans of Listerine, so don't overdo Listerine.
11:11But I do use it as part of my system because it really is working for me and it's dentist-recommended.
11:16Now, one really good point about Listerine is that then I follow it up always with a fluoride rinse.
11:24Now, fluoride, interestingly, works best in an acidic environment.
11:29And Listerine is going to temporarily, just briefly, give you that acidic environment and then you're going to put fluoride straight in there.
11:37So in that environment, the fluoride here is going to work better to be transporting those minerals that you want back into your teeth.
11:46So I use a fluoride rinse as the last rinse.
11:50And the other benefit of this fluoride rinse is it is recommended not to rinse or drink, you know, drink any fluids or eat anything for about half an hour to an hour even, I think, after using a fluoride rinse.
12:04And that's because it can give your teeth a little coating of fluoride.
12:08So as you're having your natural saliva production, that's then going to help remineralise your teeth.
12:14But we're talking about using clear aligners.
12:18So as soon as I've done my fluoride rinse, I then put tooth mousse on and I then put tooth mousse in my aligners.
12:28I pop the aligners in and that's basically my oral hygiene routine at the moment.
12:34And one I'm actually very happy with.
12:37And I actually think that during the wearing of these aligners, even though nobody likes wearing them and I don't like wearing them, they are a pain, you know, and it's just another thing to put into your routine.
12:52But the good thing about it is I do think that using this tooth mousse at the same time is probably going to in the end strengthen my teeth over the time that I'm using these.
13:02Only because my teeth will have longer contact with this remineralising tooth mousse.
13:08And I do have like a lot of enamel loss from neglect in my earlier years, unfortunately.
13:17But so there you go.
13:18So key takeaways for this video.
13:21Keeping these clean.
13:23Rinse them in cold water.
13:24Brush them exactly like you would brush your teeth.
13:27Use a fluoride toothpaste and do give them a good brush to get rid of any bacteria.
13:33Now, one thing I didn't mention earlier is that if you're out and about and you need to take them out, obviously, to eat and you can't brush them, just give them a really good rinse under cold water and then pop them back in their case.
13:45But I would, if you can, carry one of these around with you during the day because every time you pop them back in, you could put a little bit of this tooth mousse into your aligner because this has got xylitol in it.
13:58So it's going to fight any bacteria that's left in your mouth after eating.
14:02And it's also going to help remineralise your teeth while you're wearing these and prevent cavities.
14:07And then the second takeaway is what I just mentioned, use this or use your remineralisation gel or paste of your choice while you're wearing these because that's really going to help prevent any of those white spots that are a precursor to cavities.
Be the first to comment