The great news about clear aligner orthodontic treatment is that there are minimal dietary restrictions compared to traditional braces. Since you remove aligners to eat and drink, you get to enjoy all your favorite foods! However, here are a few tips:
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- Avoid really hard, crunchy, sticky foods that could damage aligners if bitten into while wearing them. Things like nuts, chunks of hard bread, taffy, Airheads, Skittles, caramel, popcorn kernels, hard tacos or beef jerky could crack or distort the thin plastic. Better to remove aligners first before munching these foods.
- Minimize staining drinks like coffee, tea, red wine, soda, berries and tomato sauce. The pigments can tint or discolor aligners with prolonged exposure. Either limit intake or be diligent about cleaning aligners after consuming staining foods and drinks.
- Rinse mouth after consuming anything acidic like citrus fruits, vinegar, pickles or soda that could interact with aligner plastic and cause micro-abrasions. These foods are fine, just thoroughly swish water after eating to neutralize acids.
- Avoid eating with aligners in whenever possible. Have a designated “aligner free” mealtime if needed to get a break from trays in your mouth while eating. Just be sure to brush before reinserting!
Overall, aligners are super diet-friendly compared to braces. Just be mindful during treatment, removing aligners for potentially damaging foods and rinsing mouth thoroughly after meals. Common sense precautions will keep your aligners intact. Happy snacking!
