Braces, Aligners, and Alcohol: How to Make Responsible Choices

Clear aligners are tailored orthodontic devices used by people who wish to achieve teeth straightening. These are popular alternatives to regular braces and are frequently used by adults or teenagers to fix teeth gaps or bad bites.

Invisible braces are the recommended choice by dentists, due to their transparent appearance allowing you to fix your teeth discreetly. With removable braces, you can display your precious smile to everyone.

After adopting removable aligners, you must protect them by eating and drinking carefully. In this blog, we will be exploring the effects of alcoholic drinks on aligners and braces and what are the risks and ideal ways to limit damages from their usage.

Usage of Alcoholic Drinks With Clear Aligners

Using alcoholic drinks can seriously impact your social life and unique lifestyle patterns. Acidic or sugary drinks like red wine promote the spread of bacteria. This can lead to various gum problems and cavities, especially for those who are adopting braces. Consuming sugary drinks with removable aligners provides the possibility of dental health damage.

Drinking alcoholic and sugary drinks is not helpful to your health. It causes food and sugar particles to get stuck in your teeth. This causes plaque and bacteria growth, which damages your teeth's enamel and results in cavities.

If you drink a lot of soda, cocktails, sports drinks, or iced tea, you need to drink in moderation if you are embracing aligners or braces. Tea, coffee, and red wine don’t contain too much sugar, but they can certainly stain your teeth. To ensure your smile looks fresh and bright, drink these in moderation.

The worst drinks to have include white wine, lemonade, or sodas, which can damage tooth enamel that can result in staining or cavities. Many adult beverages mix fruit juice and alcohol content which makes it highly acidic. Drinking alcohol in small quantities is fine but not frequently as it can have a negative impact on your oral care routine.

Understanding Braces and Invisible Aligners

Metal braces consist of brackets and wires that are attached to your teeth and imply constant pressure. As a result, you obtain desired teeth alignment results over time.

Clear aligners, on the other hand, are crafted from your unique dental impression using tailored trays that fit snugly over your teeth and provide ideal teeth alignment results.

Drinking Recommendations with Clear Aligners

You can drink whatever you want as you can remove your invisible aligners. Removing your invisible aligners to drink anything other than plain water is important. Here are the reasons:

• As clear aligners are made using transparent and clear plastic, drinking coffee or hot beverages can damage them.
• The effectiveness of a clear aligner depends on the precise fit. If the aligner plastic gets damaged, the fitting is compromised. You won’t experience the required force to achieve your desired teeth alignment. As a result, it can compromise your teeth alignment results, or you might need a new aligner tray set.
• Drinking acidic or sugary drinks with clear aligners and using aligners immediately without rinsing can often lead to teeth enamel erosion or cavities.
• These removable braces provide a snug fit and trap acid or sugar, which can lead to long-term damage. As a result, the particles don’t get washed away with saliva like in normal conditions. Drinking regular alcoholic drinks occasionally is fine. But only when you have removed your invisible aligners and rinsed them afterwards.
• Regularly drinking red wine, tea, or coffee with removable aligners can cause the tray to get stained. This will remove the purpose of having discreet teeth alignment treatment with invisible aligners as they get noticed by all.

Drinking with Braces

In the case of patients adopting braces, they need to be sensible regarding their drinking options. You must choose light-colored beverages like clear soda, white wine, or water. Also, drink sugary and acidic beverages in moderation. Always rinse and brush after drinking to effectively get rid of leftover hidden particles.

Scientific Evidence Supporting Risks of Drinking Alcoholic Drinks

Numerous research studies have indicated that drinks like red wine promote staining and compromise dental health. Therefore, you must exercise caution and vigilance to avoid the harmful effects of alcoholic drinks.

According to a research study by NIH, red wine resulted in the most staining of orthodontic devices. Red wine also affects dental health and promotes cavities by spreading bacteria.

Sugary or acidic drinks also affect dental health and promote tooth decay.

Certain sweet drinks promote dental caries and influence people who become addicted to sweets. According to a research study by NIH, sweets affect people's perception of rewards as dopamine receptors and affect their dietary habits and choices.

Popular Questions Regarding Alcoholic Drinking

Some of the most popular questions and concerns regarding alcoholic drinking habits include:

Drinking Tea or Coffee with Removable Aligners

Coffee and tea have serious and harmful effects on removable aligners. First of all, these drinks are enjoyed best when warm or hot. The heat from the drinks can warp the plastic material and change its original shape. As a result, your invisible aligners might become less effective and irritate your gums, making you obtain a new or replacement set.

Secondly, coffee and tea are pigmented, which makes it easy to stain your removable braces and associated attachments along with your teeth. So, take out your removable braces when you wish to enjoy coffee or tea and clean your mouth afterward before using your aligners again.

Can I Drink Beer or Wine with Clear Aligners?

Don’t worry about enjoying your Friday night out just because of your invisible aligners. Colored beer or red wine can seriously stain your removable aligners. Furthermore, alcohol contains large amounts of sugar, which can cause enamel damage and decay if it remains trapped under removable aligners.

Taking out your clear aligners to enjoy alcohol is not recommended. You might forget to wear them back which can increase your orthodontic treatment duration. To avoid these situations, you can choose healthy drinks that don’t affect clear aligners.

If you must drink your favorite red wine, drink water afterward to prevent staining. Furthermore, rinse and brush your teeth after drinking alcoholic drinks. This helps reduce staining, which might result in cavities.

Can I Drink Soda or Water With Removable Aligners?

Simple moderate cool water is the only drink you can safely consume with clear aligners during your orthodontic treatment. When switching to a new set of removable aligners, your dentist might recommend you drink cool water, which helps reduce inflammation and ease discomfort.

You should remove your invisible aligners when drinking hot drinks to avoid possible damage. Soda drinks contain high levels of sugar and acids, which can cause tooth decay. Therefore, when you wish to drink some soda, remove your invisible aligners. Rinse afterward with mouthwash or water or brush, and then wear your aligners.

Drinking Tips with Braces

Here are ideal tips to guarantee that your braces remain safe and clear when consuming your preferred alcoholic or sugary beverages and keep your teeth alignment on track.

• Always rinse with water after consuming dark-colored alcoholic beverages.
• Maintain ideal oral health by cleaning braces with interdental orthodontic brushes or floss.
• Use an effective mouthwash solution after consuming alcoholic drinks.
• Regularly consult with dentist or orthodontist for braces adjustment.

Drinking Tips With Clear Aligners

Here are some tips to ensure that your removable aligners remain safe as you drink your favorite beverages. And obtain the benefits of removable braces and teeth alignment.

• Sip on some normal cooled water while drinking any of your favorite beverages while wearing clear aligners.
• Before you drink any sugary or acidic drinks like tea, coffee, or red wine, remove your clear braces.
• Rinse and brush before using removable aligners and after drinking other drinks unless water.
• In case you consume acidic or sugary drinks with clear aligners then you must remove them immediately. First of all, brush your teeth, rinse, and clean removable aligners before putting them in your mouth.
• Remove your aligners and place them in a strong aligner case before going for a drink.
• Sip your drink slowly or consume it over several hours. Drinking too quickly in the case of alcoholic beverages or soda can be damaging. As the migration procedure does not get started, acids have a chance to carry out teeth damage.
• Drink plenty of water as it removes away plaque and sugar acids. Furthermore, drinking water stimulates your saliva which is important for reducing bacteria.
• Before you use your aligners again, swish water in your mouth and then spit water out after consuming your drink. Enjoying adult beverages with invisible aligners and rinsing your mouth constantly doesn’t hurt. Just don’t forget to maintain your oral health hygiene process.
• Always brush with effective fluoride toothpaste in the morning, after meals, and just before bed, and floss daily.
• Remember that drinking alcohol like wine or tea and coffee in moderation is ok for achieving your dream smile.

Summing Up

Drinking alcoholic beverages with your best friends at parties should not be considered taboo. Adopting clear aligners for teeth alignment from reputable companies like Aligner32 you don’t need to worry.

Just practice caution, vigilance, and moderation in drinking. Remember to rinse and floss regularly to maintain your oral hygiene. As a result, ensuring and maintaining your aligner treatment remains on track.