Clear Aligner Care
Wear time, cleaning, and what to do when an aligner is lost or will not seat.
- Wear aligners for the hours your orthodontist prescribed
- Remove them to eat or drink anything other than water
- Brush before putting aligners back in whenever practical
- In the case whenever they are out
- Contact us if an aligner is lost, broken, or will not seat
New-aligner tenderness
Pressure or mild tenderness for the first day or two of each new aligner is normal — it means the aligner is working. Contact us if pain is severe, unusual, comes with swelling, or does not match what your orthodontic team told you to expect.
If an aligner is lost or broken
Do not skip ahead to the next aligner or go back to an old one on your own — the right move depends on where your child is in the sequence. Call us and the orthodontic team will tell you exactly which aligner to wear while we sort out a replacement.
Cleaning
Clean aligners the way your orthodontic team recommended, and keep them away from heat — hot water and hot cars distort the plastic. Rinse them when they come out, and brush teeth before they go back in whenever practical; an aligner over unbrushed teeth holds sugar against the enamel for hours.
Call us if…
- An aligner is lost, cracked, or will not seat properly
- Severe or unusual pain, or pain with swelling
- Attachments coming off the teeth
- You are unsure which aligner your child should currently wear
Coastal Kids Dentistry & Orthodontics · (619) 562-5437 · coastalkidsdo.com/handouts/clear-aligner-care
Sources & standards
This guidance is aligned with the standards of care of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: AAPD Oral Health Policies & Recommendations