What do Invisalign patients ask once treatment starts?

Wearing and seating the trays

Aligner fit is the thread running through the early questions, from how a tray seats to what your orthodontist can learn from it.

• The answer on whether an orthodontist can tell how aligners were worn reports that the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) says the orthodontist can evaluate fit and tooth movement, and where wear indicators fall short.
• Invisalign chewies are small chew tools bitten with the aligners in, and Align, the maker of Invisalign, says its own seating tools are designed to help seat aligners properly, while the page on chewies leaves the choice of whether you need them to your orthodontist.
• Your first week with Invisalign prepares you for the discomfort a new set of trays can bring, a change in speech and a new daily routine.
• Managing Invisalign discomfort traces where aligner soreness comes from and ways to ease it.

Attachments, rubber bands and the aligner count

A treatment plan can add small parts, extra force or more aligners as the teeth move, and each change is your orthodontist's decision.

• When an Invisalign attachment falls off tells you what attachments do and why the next step is contacting your orthodontist's office, which Align says will set a time to replace it.
• Rubber bands with Invisalign shows where a band hooks on and why a plan may need one, since the AAO says elastics apply extra force in a configuration custom-selected for your bite by your orthodontist.
• How many aligners you will get connects the count to your treatment plan, since the AAO says the number varies with each person's orthodontic issues.
• Invisalign refinements introduces an added series of aligners designed from where the teeth actually ended up after the first.

Meals, travel and sports with aligners

Removable trays turn meals, trips and games into a matter of routine: where the aligners go, and how they stay clean.

• Invisalign diet rules deals with taking the aligners out before eating or drinking, foods to be careful with, and how snacking affects wear time.
• Traveling with Invisalign suggests keeping everything in one place, cleaning after every meal and packing your previous set of aligners.
• Playing sports with Invisalign discusses mouthguards and how aligners fit different sports.

Invisalign treatment and your consultation

The Invisalign clear aligners page sums up what Invisalign is, how the aligners are worn and what else happens during treatment, and your own plan starts with the exam at a consultation.