Can You Do Teeth Whitening Treatment if You Have Invsalign with Attachments?

Question

I am currently in the middle of my Invisalign treatment and I have 8 "attachments" on my teeth to help my teeth move. My question is, I know you can use the Invisalign retainers as a whitening tray, but is this adviseable to do if you have these attachments? It seems like the area of tooth the attachment is covering wouldn't get whitened and it would look funny.

Chad Colson, DMD · Answer

With the number of attachments on your teeth, I would advise you to wait until the attachments are removed (which could occur near the end of your treatment) before attempting to whiten your teeth.  The area of the tooth beneath the attachments will not lighten, so you will have to whiten after these attachments are removed.  My patients whiten very often during ClearCorrect or Invisalign treatment (in fact, we throw in the bleaching at no cost during treatment), but I don't recommend whitening when attachments are on the teeth.  If attachments are present during the entire phase of treatment, I make whitening trays after treatment so that the patient can get the desired result post-treatment (again, I throw this in at no cost to the patient).  Whitening is more effective when the teeth are aligned than when they are crooked or crowded.

Dan Hagi, DDS · Answer

With invisalign attachments you can definitely whiten. The problem is that if done in the middle of treatment and the attachments are not made with translucent resin your teeth will whiten but the attachments will stand out more as they will not change colour. I usually recommend my invisalign patients wait until they reach the last 2 aligners before undergoing the bleaching. Hope this helps.

Wendy S. Spektor, DDS · Answer

This is a great question and once upon a time you needed to wait.  HOWEVER, there is a new product on the market by Ultradent-It is a whitening tray for braces.  The current thought is that teeth will whiten even with the tads on or braces on.  ASK your dentist if they can look into it for you.  Once you complete your care, you can always whiten more-Good luck-Dr. Wendy

Leonard Tau, DMD · Answer

Yes you can in fact whiten your teeth during invisalign treatment even with attachments on your teeth.  The whitening gel can penetrate the attachment and lighten while you are wearing the invisalign.  Not sure why the other dentist says it does not.  It is a very well known fact that you can whiten while in invisalign.  Hope this helps

Dan Haas, DDS · Answer

I would not recommend you whiten your teeth if you have Invisalign attachments unless these attachments are on molars that are not visible when you smile.  What will happen is that the whitening product will only work on the tooth structure that is not covered by the attachments.  This will end up giving you two different shades on these teeth.  I would recommend you wait to do your whitening after the Invisalign is completed.

Can You Do Teeth Whitening Treatment if You Have Invsalign with Attachments?

Answers (5)

Answer: Whitening during invisalign

Answer: Whitening during invisalign

Answer: Whitening with Invisalign Attachments is NOT recommended

Answer: Whitening with Invisalign Attachments is NOT recommended

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Everything you need to know about Teeth Whitening

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Can You Do Teeth Whitening Treatment if You Have Invsalign with Attachments?

Answers (5)

Answer: Whitening during invisalign

Answer: Whitening during invisalign

Answer: Whitening with Invisalign Attachments is NOT recommended

Answer: Whitening with Invisalign Attachments is NOT recommended

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Teeth Whitening

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.