Aligners help straighten out your smile, but smoking and drinking can negatively affect your oral health. Learn how smoking and drinking affect aligners for the benefit of healthy teeth and gums as well as the most optimal treatment outcomes.
This comprehensive guide is an outline regarding how smoking and drinking will affect aligners, risks, and ways you can ameliorate oral health while undergoing orthodontics.
The Effects of Drinking on Aligners and Oral Health
Certain drinks can also cause an adverse effect on your aligners and oral health too. Drinking while using aligners may cause cavities, discoloration, and ineffectiveness.
- High-Sugar and High-Acidity Exposure: Alcoholic, carbonated, and fruit juice beverages commonly have high acid levels that erode enamel. The regular use of such types of drinks increases the risk of tooth decay.
- Dehydration and Dry Mouth: Saliva is responsible for washing away food particles and neutralizing acids. However, it is absent and this increases the chance for bacteria growth and oral infections.
- Staining with Dark-Colored Drinks: Drinks like red wine, coffee, tea, and other sugary beverages can cause stains on the teeth. With time, aligners may discolor, as they become more conspicuous, which necessitates frequent replacements.
Responsible Drinking Along with Aligners
Follow these tips to lessen their side effects:
- Remove your aligners before drinking anything other than water.
- Rinse your mouth with water, after eating sugary or acidic drinks.
- Brush and floss before reinserting aligners to prevent bacteria build-up.
- If you consume too many sugary drinks, only take a few sips, which are guaranteed to foster improvement in your oral-health regimen.
The Impact of Smoking on Aligners and Oral Health
Smoking is a major cause of oral health problems and a serious risk for people using aligners for orthodontic treatment. Here is how smoking affects aligners and oral health in general:
- Stains and Discoloration: Cigarettes and tobacco products may not directly damage your aligners, but they can affect their appearance. Nicotine and tar can cause yellowing of the teeth and staining over time.
- Increase Plaque and Tartar Buildup: Tobacco increases the levels of plaque and tartar in the mouth. As aligners are held closely on top of the teeth within the oral cavity, they silently contribute to the persistence of bacteria within the mouth, which in turn can increase the risk of developing caries, periodontitis, and halitosis.
- Slow Healing and Gum Disease: Healthy gums form one of the keystones of successful orthodontic treatment. Smoking normally directly leads to the reduction in gum health causing inflammation, recessions, or in extreme cases, necrosis of teeth.
- Bad Breath and Dry Mouth: A dry mouth would lead to growths of bacteria that could cause gum infections and other diseases that will hinder the consideration of wearing the aligners.
What If You Smoke
If you need to smoke during treatment, remove your aligners first and rinse your mouth with water afterward to reduce staining and bacteria. The best thing for your oral and overall health is to reduce smoking or quit completely.
What to Do If Your Aligners Have Stains Resulting From Smoking or Drinking
- Avoid Applying Toothpaste to Aligners: Toothpaste can cause itching and is excessively abrasive, which facilitates the growth of bacteria.
- Soak Aligners Regularly: Try to use an aligner soaking solution or mild soap that is good for overall cleaning.
- Use the Cleaners the Manufacturer Suggests: There are many aligner cleaning solutions designed especially to remove surface stains.
- Replace Severely Stained Aligners: If aligners are stained to such an extent that another effort will not help, consult with the orthodontist about a new tray.
Important Factors for Aligners and Oral Health Protection
Although quitting smoking and drinking is the best option, here are some ways to minimize how smoking and drinking affect aligners and protect your oral health.
- Remove Aligners Before Smoking or Drinking to prevent staining, warping, and exposure to toxins.
- Oral Hygiene Brush, floss, and rinse before insert aligners again.
- Drink Water for washing away the bacteria and reducing any negative effects.
- Use proper cleaning to clean aligners conceived by the Manufacturer.
- Restrict sugar and acid drinks to prevent enamel erosion and bacteria growth.
- Frequent dental appointments maintain progress of the aligners and overall oral health.
Conclusion
If you want to get the best outcomes from your aligner treatment, consider decreasing the level of smoking while limiting alcohol intake. Smoking and drinking affect aligners by impacting their clarity and performance. For expert orthodontic care, visit Dr. Sanjay Kalra’s Multispecialty Dental Clinic in Panchkula, Haryana.
Book your appointment today for a confident and healthier smile!