Snacking with Invisalign Aligners

The makers of Invisalign do not recommend that you snack while wearing the Invisalign aligners – not even soft foods. The reason is that the act of chewing has the potential to warm and damage the aligner, and if your aligner is damaged it can throw off the remainder of your treatment.

This recommendation includes not only hard snacks, but soft snacks as well – including fruit. However, orthodontists are mixed about whether or not soft fruit has the potential to break Invisalign aligners. While they are made from a thin plastic, that plastic is not so weak that soft chewing a fruit is likely to affect the aligner shape. The problem is that there are other risks, including:

• Chewing Harder – We all have a tendency to let our chewing instincts kick in when we’re eating, and while you may be chewing softly, you still run the risk of accidentally making a hard chew that distorts or cracks the aligner.
• Staining and Bacteria – In addition, if you snack with the aligner on, you risk staining the aligner and possibly introducing bacteria and germs to your teeth and gums that may cause decay over time.

So it is not necessarily the chewing that is the problem. Soft foods are unlikely to damage or distort your aligners. But if you snack with your aligners in your mouth and do not brush your teeth or clean the aligner, you do risk tooth decay and staining.

How to Snack with Invisalign

If you feel that you must snack with throughout the day, consider limiting how often you snack, and simply care for your aligners the way you do when you are eating meals: take them out, eat your food, then clean the aligner and brush your teeth. It is an extra few steps, but it is still a good practice to prevent aligner distortion, and to keep your teeth as healthy as possible throughout the treatment.