How Do You Clean Invisalign Aligners?

Aligners spend around 22 hours a day in a warm, moist environment full of bacteria. Without a routine they turn cloudy, develop an odour, and start to look like exactly the thing you were trying to avoid wearing.

The daily routine

• Rinse the aligners in lukewarm water every time you take them out — dried saliva is much harder to remove than fresh
• Brush them gently with a soft brush, using clear liquid soap or a cleaner made for aligners rather than toothpaste
• Rinse thoroughly before putting them back in
• Brush your teeth before reinserting, so you are not sealing debris against enamel
• Store them in their case when they are out, dry rather than sitting in liquid

Why not toothpaste?

Most toothpastes are mildly abrasive. That is fine for enamel and not fine for aligner plastic, where the microscopic scratches it creates scatter light — which is what makes aligners look cloudy — and give bacteria somewhere to sit. Whitening toothpastes tend to be the most abrasive of all.

Things to avoid

• Hot water, which can warp the plastic and ruin the fit
• Mouthwash with colouring, which can tint the aligners
• Denture cleaner or household bleach unless we have specifically recommended it
• Leaving aligners in the sun or a hot car — a dashboard in summer will finish them off
• Wrapping them in a napkin, the single most reliable way to lose a set

If they smell

An odour usually means bacteria have established themselves, which points at either the cleaning routine or brushing before reinsertion. Both are fixable. If it persists after a week of careful cleaning, tell us — sometimes the underlying issue is dental rather than the aligner.

Attachments and their upkeep

If your treatment uses attachments — small tooth-coloured shapes bonded to the teeth to help aligners grip — they need cleaning too. They can pick up stain from coffee and tea, and because they sit on the tooth surface, plaque collects around their edges. Brushing around them deliberately is worth the extra few seconds.

Related reading: what you can eat and drink during treatment and how many hours a day aligners are worn. Considering clear aligners? See our Invisalign page or call our Huntington Beach office to arrange a consultation.