Invisalign is one of the most popular ways to straighten teeth. But for the aligners to be effective, they must be properly cleaned and taken care of. Otherwise, you will find yourself dealing with bacteria build-up, causing dental diseases and possible breakage of your Invisalign aligners.
Want to learn about Invisalign care?
Invisalign clear aligners are the most modern teeth straightening system. It uses a durable and clear plastic material to gently move the teeth to the desired position, resulting in a beautiful and healthy smile.
These clear aligners will be used for a 2 week time period until such time that they loosen. Then, they have to be replaced with a brand new set. To ensure that the clear aligners remain in good condition before the replacement set, you have to properly take care of them.
With this Invisalign care guide, you will learn how to care for your Invisalign with the proper handling and cleaning method.
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How Often Should You Clean Your Invisalign?
Your Invisalign aligners should be routinely cleaned every night. This is usually done around the same time that you brush and clean your teeth. This helps remove the build-up of bacteria and plaque that have accumulated during the day. With this, your aligners are optimally clean for overnight use.
But, if you find that your aligners look dirty or dull, you can immediately clean them with a specialized cleaning solution and warm water. They should also be cleaned every time you take them off for eating or drinking anything other than water.
If you notice debris or staining on your aligner trays that do not seem to come off, bring them on your next visit. We will deep clean them for you so they can remain in great shape.
Avoid harsh cleaning products and tools
While they are durable, your Invisalign trays should be cleaned gently and with the use of proper solutions. Avoid harsh chemicals that may distort the trays. Also, using toothbrushes with hard bristles or other sharp cleaning tools may scratch the tray. Over time, these may cause dullness and even weaken your aligners.
Do not drink or eat with them on
Food debris and beverages, other than water, are notorious for causing discolorations on the plastic Invisalign trays. Also, as the material is only made of plastic, they are not made to be used for chewing and biting. So make sure to remove them before you eat or drink anything other than water. Otherwise, you risk damaging your clear aligners.
Learn how to store your Invisalign braces
Another Invisalign aftercare is to dry and store them in their case whenever they are not in use. Leaving them in random areas exposes them to a lot of bacteria, and this can affect the durability of the material. Also, this may cause accidental falls and breakage.
Aside from that, imagine putting dirty aligners in your mouth. This may eventually cause dental issues such as bad breath and even tooth decay. Avoid this by storing your aligners properly. Proper storage also ensures that you never lose your aligners.
Practice good oral hygiene
Lastly, make sure to properly brush and floss your teeth to prevent the build-up of plaque and bacteria. This will ensure that, after the Invisalign treatment, your smile will be healthy just as it is beautiful.
How to Prevent Invisalign From Breaking?
Do not use your aligners when eating. While they are very durable, they are not meant for biting or chewing food.
Make sure you are removing them correctly. Start with pulling the back area of the aligners on both sides first and the front will follow. Doing this in reverse risks damage.
Store your aligners properly when they are not in use.
Clean your aligner braces properly to prevent bacteria build-up, which can affect the durability of the plastic material.
Switch to your replacement aligners as scheduled. Moving to a new tray too quickly may cause pain and discomfort. You may also find that it does not fit well and forcing it into your teeth can cause cracks or breaks.
Visit your dental provider for regular progress checks.
Are you PRONE to Getting Cavities or Want to Find Ways to Strengthen Your Teeth?
Add ACT Mouth rinse to your aligners before bed.The fluoride contained in ACT Mouth rinse may help remineralized areas that are demineralized!What does that mean??Adding ACT can help make your teeth stronger while you sleep.
FAQs
What is the last stage of Invisalign?
The final stage is Invisalign retainers. After straightening your teeth and improving your bite, the last part of your treatment is to permanently keep the teeth in place. Without retainers, relapse may occur and this will bring you back to square one of the Invisalign process.Avoid starting over by simply following all the correct steps the first time!
Can I wear my Invisalign tray as a retainer?
While your Invisalign trays can act as retainers, these are only meant for up to 2 weeks of use. After that, you will need to invest in retainers. Vivera or Hawley retainers are more durable and are designed to hold the teeth in place for the long term.
Do Invisalign trays get looser?
Invisalign works by applying pressure to straighten the teeth. So eventually, as the teeth shift to their proper position, your clear aligners will normally loosen. To continue the movement of your teeth, you must replace your aligner trays with a new set at least every 2 weeks or as recommended by your dentist.
Straighten Your Teeth The Invisalign Way
Is Invisalign the right treatment for your teeth alignment problems and bite issues? Book a consultation with our Invisalign orthodontist at LiveHealthy Dental to know more. I want Invisalign now!
ACCOUNT SPECIALISTS
Darla is an Account Specialist. She is originally from Missouri. Darla has two adult children that she is extremely proud of!
Darla loves her position because she enjoys troubleshooting, problem solving, and working independently. Outside of the office, Darla loves to garden and read. She also loves animals and has a 14 year old dog.
ACCOUNT SPECIALISTS
Nancy is from a large family, and she is the sixth out of seven kids.
Her parents are originally from Haiti. Nancy graduated from Darnell Cookman High School and is currently attending FSCJ. She loves the dental field because it allows her to give back to the community. In her free time, she enjoys writing and playing the piano.
ACCOUNT SPECIALISTS
Amber is a Senior Account Specialist and has been with our team for 7 years.
She enjoys working in the dental field because she is amazed how the dental treatment can help a persons’ overall health. She is the Sunday School director at her church and she enjoys trips to SeaWorld in her free time.
Hygiene Mentor
Georganna has been practicing as a dental hygienist for almost seven years. She has several years of experience in a large group practice as a dental hygienist and hygiene mentor.
Georganna has a younger brother and sister. She has a full house with four dogs and two cats. Georganna grew up and lives in Dunnellon, Florida, and she studied at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. Her hobbies include fishing, mudding, going to the beach, and any activity that involves water, sun, friends, and family. She also enjoys volunteering her time with local youth as a pop warner cheerleading coach. Georganna loves to learn new things and help others.and your users are sure to see it!
Hygiene Mentor
Ashley serves as a hygiene mentor for Narducci Dental Group. She is a true advocate for her patients
In her spare time, Ashley enjoys spending time outdoors. She likes traveling on summer vacations to the Keys and Connecticut, and to her family home in the mountains.
Dental Assistant Mentor
( LiveHealthy Dental )
Majorie began her career in dentistry in 2001. Majorie has worked with Dr. Narducci since 2001 as a Dental Assistant
She also brings a wealth of 18 years of dental experience to our team. Majorie has worked in both the large dental service organization setting, as well as the private practice setting.
Throughout her career, she was mentored by Dr. Narducci, to be the lead assistant in comprehensive dental cases, from the initial treatment planning phase, to assisting in the administration of dental treatment, to post-operative service and care.
At NDG, Majorie plays a critical role in leading her dental assisting teams at maximizing their skill sets, to allow the doctors to concentrate on their craft. These skills include dental assisting, building patient relationships, leading treatment teams, schedule management, and patient education and prioritizing. Majorie is also responsible for selecting, hiring, and training new dental assistants in the practice group. She also mentors novice assistants beginning their career and provides them with the foundational knowledge needed to assist in implementing a high standard of care, as well as ensuring that schedules are maximizing productivity.
As the dental assistants are progressing, Majorie responds to each practice to train and groom dental assistants as they progress in their level of patient care. Majorie is committed in helping her patients, as well as her team members grow and improve.
Not only is Majorie a critical leader at NDG, she is also an exceptional leader in her community. Majorie has served as a cultural liaison in NDG’s mission trips to Haiti. Her passion is also centered in youth growth and empowerment, and she leads the Adventurer’s Club, a youth group at her local church. She is also Health Department Leader, a member of the choir, and a Ministry Leader in her local church.
Majorie is married to John Jerome, and they have four energetic boys. She enjoys spending time with her family, and loves to cook, sing, dance, and supports her cultural community as a mentor.
Executive Assistant
Kristina is an Executive Assistant to the Narducci Dental Leadership Team. Kristina comes with a diverse background of experiences prior to Narducci Dental Group. She has an educational background in healthcare and has worked in hospital settings with direct patient care. Kristina also worked for several years in the hospitality industry with a luxury hotel property, providing world class service to guests from all over the world.
In her spare time, Kristina has a passion to make a difference to those in need and often organizes donation packages for her local community and church. Her hobbies include reading, running, working out, cooking, spending time with her family, singing, dancing, and exploring new places and activities. Kristina loves to take on new projects, continually learn and grow, and help others achieve their goals.
Regional Administrator
Elizabeth Bilbrey is the Regional Manager of the central Florida locations
She has been married to husband Terry for 24 years and have three adult children, Georganna, Shane, and Marissa. She also has two granddaughters, aged 5 (Bristol) and 6 (Madelyn).
Elizabeth Bilbrey is the Regional Manager of the central Florida locations. She has been married to husband Terry for 24 years and have three adult children, Georganna, Shane, and Marissa. She also has two granddaughters, aged 5 (Bristol) and 6 (Madelyn). Elizabeth relocated from Indiana to Florida in April 2003 with her family.
Elizbeth has 6 years of experience in dental practice administration in a corporate practice setting. She started out as a business assistant and worked her way up to multiple positions and managed multiple offices, and eventually became a Practice Manager of Operations.
Prior to her dental career, she owned and operated two mortgage broker establishments for almost 20 years. The first was in Indiana, and she opened a second company when she relocated to Florida.
In her spare time, Elizabeth loves to serve her community in helping her daughters coach a pop warner cheerleading program, specifically the 8- 10 year old division. She also enjoys spending time on her dock with her husband while enjoys fishing. Elizabeth likes to read or listen to anything that is inspirational and related to self-growth or leadership.
Elizabeth finds that she can impact NDG patients the most through growing and inspiring the teams and any individuals that surround her. She enjoys her work in dentistry because this process is so rewarding. By helping others be the best that they can possibly be, both personally and clinically, her teams are able to deliver the “WOW” experience to each and every patient in multiple offices.
Business Operations Administrator
Robin began her career as a marine biologist, studying estuarine fish populations for over a decade.
She never dreamed of joining the field of dentistry, but through it has now found her true passion – turning numbers into meaningful tools and ensuring the best financial experience possible for patients and dental teams.
Robin began her career as a marine biologist, studying estuarine fish populations for over a decade. She never dreamed of joining the field of dentistry, but through it has now found her true passion – turning numbers into meaningful tools and ensuring the best financial experience possible for patients and dental teams.
Robin comes to NDG with a wealth of experience working with teams in a multiple practice settings optimize their operations from a financial and efficiency perspective. She has worked in many roles in dental business operations, including on-site business administration and off-site operational support. Robin has a talent of leading behind the scenes teams in the most productive and efficient manner possible, thus bringing a tremendous amount of value to the NDG leadership team.
Outside of the office, Robin enjoys rural life. She grew up in a small town and spent her time between the roller rink and horse barn. Learning new roller dances with her mom is a memory that will always make her smile, and though she does not go as often as she would like now, she never passes up the chance to lace up her skates. Robin also runs obstacle races, kayaks, and spends as much time in nature as possible. Her favorite time of year is winter, and she deeply misses building snowmen. What Robin loves most about dentistry is having the opportunity to work inside the business so the front office teams can focus on what they do best – building relationships with our patients.
Regional Administrator
( LiveHealthy Dental )
Annette brings a wealth of experience of over 25 years in the dental field, as she began as a Dental Assistant.
She has filled many roles within dentistry, from a Dental Assistant, to a Practice Administrator, to an Operations Manager serving many practices at once.
Annette was born and raised in Michigan. Shas been married to her husband Kevin for over 30 years. They have two adult children, AJ and Kate. In her spare time, she loves spending time at the beach and reading.
Annette not only loves dentistry, but is truly passionate about coaching her teams to their fullest potential. She loves seeing people evolve and grow within their profession, which in turn gives patients the best dental care that they deserve.
Marketing Director
( LiveHealthy Dental )
Megan leads Narducci Dental Group’s innovative and creative Marketing Department. She began her career when she moved back to Jacksonville in 2016 after she had received her AA from Florida Atlantic University. She applied for and was accepted into her first position with NDG as a full time Account Specialist at Support Central while also being a full-time student at the University of North Florida. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, she transferred into the offices as a Business Assistant and gained experience by working closely with patients and team-members.
Her passion for dentistry and experience throughout multiple departments in NDG aided a smooth transition to becoming the Director of Marketing.
Her values are geared towards delivering patient-centered care, positively impacting team-mate moral and being involved within her community through volunteering and educational activities She hopes to expand Narducci Dental Group’s offices throughout their surrounding areas and help educate her community on the importance of dental healthcare. Her experience from billing to patient coordination have led her to comprehensively understand the patient experience and now hopes to ensure that more people within her community are presented with an opportunity to experience the warmth and comprehensive care which any Narducci Dental Group office offers.
This is her testament to the power of dentistry:
Prior to arriving for her new patient appointment with Dr. Narducci at Town Center Dental Group in 2002, she did not like the dentist, in fact, she was terrified, and her crowded, misaligned smile was, for the most part, kept hidden.
She remembered how warmly her family was welcomed in, the beautiful waiting room and music and how the new televisions on the ceiling tentatively distracted her from how uncomfortable she truly felt while waiting for an exam. However, more than anything else, she remembered how her dentist and his team genuinely listened and talked with her, understood and related to her feelings, and how they patiently helped her to overcome the insecurity she felt over her smile.
She left the office that day with a clean, polished smile and despite still having cooked teeth, she felt a newfound level of confidence and hope emerge which later ignited her passion for dentistry.
Her testament to the “Wow Experience” is what motivates her to ensure that patients will always receive exceptional, comprehensive, patient-centered care within NDG’s offices, and she continues to share her experience as a tool to help her team-mates realize how impactful their line of work has on their patients.
She is proud to call herself a Jacksonville native although she easily finds herself lost when traveling anywhere past St. John’s Bluff. In her spare time, she continues to educate herself on the ever-changing scope of dental and marketing, she enjoys gardening, fishkeeping, tea drinking and biking while enjoying the warm breeze and sunshine near her humble abode in Atlantic Beach.
Regional Administrator, Speciality
Valerie is a Regional Administrator of the Specialty Department. She has been a resident of Florida since the 1970s after traveling all over the US and Europe as a child. She previously attended ECC in Fort Myers and the University of Florida. She majored in Management in college, and shortly after she realized that she was not the type to sit isolated without interactions from others. As a result, Valerie applied for an entry level dental assistant. She fell in love with dentistry and was amazed at how diseased teeth affected the overall health of an individual, and discovered the positive impact she could have through dentistry.
Valerie also found that assisting a doctor during surgical procedures had taken her excitement and curiosity to a whole new level. She found her niche’ and her passion has only grown from that moment. Valerie loves being in dentistry because she can make a difference in people’s lives through education and compassion. It has been her mission for decades, and it is still her mission today.
Outside of work, Valerie’s life is family centered with husband Rick and daughters, Paige and Heather. They are all UF Florida Gators!!!! She also loves crafting with her cricut cutter, decorating cakes, interior decorating, gardening, boating, jetskiing, and playing golf.
She enjoys working in the dental field because she is amazed how the dental treatment can help a persons’ overall health. She is the Sunday School director at her church and she enjoys trips to SeaWorld in her free time.
Lisa is the Practice Administrator of Marietta Dental. She has over 30yrs experience in the dental field. Dental health has been a lifelong
commitment to Lisa. In her spare time, Lisa also works retail where she has dedicated 18yrs of services too as well. She also enjoys traveling, wine tastings, and visiting her family in Virginia.
Celise: is a Hygiene Assistant at Marietta Dental. Celise posses 2yrs of experience in the dental field. Prior to working at Marietta Dental Celise
was a patient care specialist at a periodontal office in the Jacksonville area. In Celise’s free time she enjoys spending time with her family and building and refurbishing old trucks.
Kyra started with Marietta Dental fresh out of school. After working a few months Kyra decided she wanted to expand her knowledge in the dental field and started working with our Specialty Team. Kyra has been with Live Healthy Dental for 3yrs now and is currently back working at Marietta Dental. She enjoys going to the beach and eating at Tokyo Ramen. Sushi is this girl’s life.
Natalie started with Live Healthy Dental as an account specialist at our support office, however, after some time she realized she loved meeting and interacting with patients, so she decided to transfer to the frontline. She has now been the Business Assistant at Marietta Dental for almost 2 years. Natalie has a passion for event planning and interior design, she likes to make sure our Marietta Office is always decorated for the current season and holiday. In her spare time, you will find her spending time with her family and her fur babies. Her hobbies include decorating, organizing, camping, kayaking, and boating. Natalie absolutely adores her job and the team she works with; her favorite part of her job is getting to know her team and the patients more.
Courtney has been a dental assistant for nearly a year now with Marietta Dental. She has a passion for helping and educating patients. Courtney is also a graduate from FSU with a degree in Criminology. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her friends and family and if the weather is right a quick trip down to our beaches sitting in the sand enjoying the fresh air.
Rachel grew up in Jacksonville, Fl and attended school at Florida State College of Jacksonville, completing her degree in Dental Hygiene. She is married with two children and lots of farm animals. Rachel enjoys being outdoors and traveling. Rachel has been a Dental Hygienist at Marietta Dental for just over a year and is very grateful to work at one of the best dental offices in Jacksonville! She loves her career as a Dental Hygienist and really enjoys giving her patients a beautiful, healthy smile.
James Suarez, RDH with qualification to administer local anesthesia; BLS provider - fluent in English and Tagalog.Dental hygienist since June 2017 Doctor of Dental Medicine - University of the East - 05/2008; practiced dentistry in NCR, the Philippines for 6 months before coming back to Jacksonville, Florida.BS Biology from Univ. of Central Florida - 08/2003. My Hobbies include collecting comics since 1990, going to punk rock concerts since high school - also listening to hip hop, Jamaican music, heavy metal; going to the movies eating popcorn, and drinking Icees’. I’m currently going to title boxing gym, skateboarding, and drawing. I believe the Jacksonville Jaguars could be doing a lot better but enjoy going to games every chance I get to root for them.
Expanded Functions Dental Assistant since 2011. Michelle has a diverse background before joining Live Healthy Dental. I’ve worked in a customer service/call center as well as a daycare prior to going to Kaplan to earn a diploma as E.F.D.A.I enjoy being around family and have an interest in old black and white suspense films (mostly Alfred Hitchcock) and I love scary movies. My hobbies include shopping, reading, and cooking.
