Can I Eat With My Aligner Still In My Mouth?

Question

I have to have one of my front tooths removed for some reason, and they will be replacing it with invisilign and a fake front tooth. My question is will I be able to eat with the top aligners in. I eat a lot in public as a part of my job and taking the aligner out is not an option for me.

Janet H. Stoess-Allen, DMD · Answer

You should always remove your Invisalign aligners when eating. If you are self conscious because of a missing tooth, you might want to discuss the possibility of some type of removable appliance with a false tooth attached that would allow you to eat with the appliance in your mouth.

Antoaneta Barba, DDS · Answer

My answer is no.You cannot eat with the aligner. However, in special cases like yours,you can try to eat with them,at least with the one you have the missing tooth.

	First, try this way.If that does not work, talk to your doctor to have a partial flipper placed on the missing tooth to use whenever you eat.

Joseph W. Worthington, DDS · Answer

Eating with your aligners in is not recommended. Have your dentist make a simple flipper that you can use in public situations. I'm assuming the tooth will eventually be replaced with an implant once the other teeth are in proper alignment so the space will most likely stay the same size.

Rod Strober, DDS · Answer

Although I tell my patients to remove their aligners when eating there have been a few patients that have tried eating with them. My first questyion would be...why do you want to eat with the aligners? If it is on occasion I would say yes..you can eat with the aligner s but be careful not to get food stuck on or underneath them. Once you have finished eating is is necessary to rinse them off and brush your teeth immediately. If you get food stuck under the aligners it can cause gum problems as well as cavitiies. Also, eating witht he aligner can damaget he aligners, and cause them to be less effective.

Zola A Makrauer, DMD · Answer

It is always advisable to remove your aligners when eating. You could damage the aligner by eating something that is hard. If you must keep the aligner in then I would advise that you eat soft food. I would also remove the aligner after eating and 1. brush your teeth, and 2. rinse out the aligner. It is very easy the get tooth decay if you let the food stay in the aligner after eating. Best of luck!

Michael Minars, DMD · Answer

I tell my patients to wear the aligners 24/7 besides eating and brushing their teeth. However there are always exceptions. My suggestion would be to try eating with the upper aligner in. Experiment towards the end of the 2 weeks so that if something happens to the aligner you always can just move to the next aligner (if it damages the current aligner). My concern is really not the damage to the aligner but I wonder how well you will be able to cut and chew your food. If the food is not chewed adequately you may upset your stomach or even worse choke on a large bolus of food. Good Luck

Scott LeSueur, DDS · Answer

Yes, in your case where an anterior tooth is missing and an artificial tooth is in place within the aligner, you would prefer NOT to take the aligner out when eating in public. Of course, you will need to avoid hard, chewy foods which will make eating more difficult and could cause problems with the aligners such as cracking or fitting issues that will affect treatment success.

	Always clean the aligners and brush/ floss your teeth after the meal to avoid tooth decay and gum problems ( gingivitis ). When not out in public, it is necessary that the aligners be removed for meals.

	Best wishes!

Leonard Tau, DMD · Answer

I understand your situation but the long of the short is that it is not recommended. You probably would not damage the tray but it is not ideal for hygiene reasons. To avoid getting decay I would remove the trays right after eating, rinse and brush your teeth

Jacqueline Demko, DDS, MSD · Answer

SHORT answer: Yes

	Long answer: Align does not recommended it. Basically for hygiene reasons. It is not likely to damage the trays if it is regular food and nothing like rocks or ice.

	Eating with them could help capture some of the necessary hours needed to achieve the ideal movement, like grinding you teeth at night actually helps the trays "seat".

	If you do eat with them I would be sure to brush both your trays and teeth immediately after to avoid getting cavities, which could occur at a mush faster rate than if not eating with the trays in.

Lance Timmerman, DMD, MAGD - Account Suspended · Answer

CAN and SHOULD are the main issues when deciding to eat food with Invisalign aligners. The trays can trap food,leading to a constant bath of acidic material leading to cavities, or the trays can crack or poke holes. They may even distort so they won't move teeth as intended. Despite all of that, you need to do what you must. If you clean the trays well immediately, you may be fine. Perhaps try soft food so as to be less abrasive.

Can I Eat With My Aligner Still In My Mouth?

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