Common Invisalign Mistakes Patients Make and How to Avoid Them

Congratulations! You’ve taken the leap. You’ve scanned your teeth, received your first set of clear aligners, and are officially on the journey to a straighter, healthier smile. No more metal wires, no more brackets, just a clear path to confidence.

But here is the truth that often gets lost in the excitement: Invisalign works, but only if you work with it.

Unlike traditional braces, which are fixed to your teeth and do the work 24/7 regardless of what you do, Invisalign is a partnership. The technology is brilliant, but the success of the treatment relies heavily on your compliance. It requires discipline, routine, and a bit of lifestyle adjustment.

At Thyme Dental, we have seen hundreds of smiles transformed. We have also seen the hiccups that can happen along the way. To help you breeze through your treatment without delays or unnecessary costs, we have compiled the definitive guide to the Common Invisalign mistakes and, more importantly, how to avoid them.

1. The “22-Hour” Rule: Failing to Wear Them Enough

The most common error that patients make with their Invisalign treatment is leaving their aligners out too long. This is the number one reason why treatments get delayed.

Leave it Out:

You take your aligners out for a cup of coffee – which turns into forgetting you have them until after lunch – which results in not using your aligners 22 hours a day.

Why it Matters:

Teeth are moved by gentle pressure applied to them and removed by the removal of that same pressure. If aligners are removed for longer than the prescribed time, then teeth may begin to return to their original position. This can cause “tracking issues” between aligners; this means that aligners won’t fit correctly, and because your teeth haven’t moved enough to allow the next set of aligners to fit correctly.

How to Avoid It:

It is critical to treat the 22-hour rule as if it were law, and the aligners should not come out of your mouth except when eating, drinking (anything not water) or when brushing your teeth, otherwise you should be wearing the aligners.

2. The “Just a Sip” Trap: Drinking Anything Other Than Water

Common Misconceptions: “Soda? It’s not going to stain,” or “Iced coffee? Just an iced coffee.”  Many patients believe drinking from a cup with their aligners still on is safe.

Why This Is Important: Heat and sugar are both dangerous. 

• Heat: Invisalign is made with a medical-grade thermoplastic that can melt due to overly hot teas, coffees, or other similar beverages. If the shape of the material is changed, the aligner won’t be able to assist in properly moving your teeth. 
• Sugar & Acid: When you consume sweetened beverages such as sodas and juices while wearing an aligner, these liquids are trapped between the enamel and the aligners. Therefore, your teeth have been exposed for hours to the acid and sugar that exist in sweet-tasting products. 
• Staining: Hot coffee, hot tea, and red wine will stain the clear plastic. Therefore, aligners that were supposed to be invisible are now visible by virtue of the discolouration they’ve suffered. 

What Should You Do? Only drink cold water while wearing your aligners. For everything else, take the aligners out, drink your beverage, rinse with some water, and put the aligners back into your mouth.

3. The “Napkin Nightmare”: Improper Storage

The Mistake:

You are at a restaurant and have taken out your aligners and put them inside a paper napkin for privacy.

Why This Is Important:

The most common place for aligners to get lost is in restaurants when the waiters clean the tables. They see a crumpled napkin and throw it away. In this case, you will either be searching a dumpster or paying for another set of aligners.

How to Prevent This From Happening:

Protect your aligners. You should never wrap your aligners in a napkin. Always have your Invisalign case with you as it is the only thing that is completely safe for your aligners.

4. Aggressive Cleaning: Using Toothpaste on Aligners

What you did wrong: 

Because you use whitening toothpaste to clean your teeth, you assumed that you could use the same type of toothpaste to clean your aligners. 

The Importance of Clean Aligners: 

Toothpaste contains abrasives such as silica that will polish hard enamel by scrubbing the tooth’s surface, but aligners are made of plastic which is much softer than enamel. By scrubbing your aligners with an abrasive toothpaste, you leave thousands of tiny scratches on the surface of the aligner, therefore trapping bacteria in the scratches, which make the clear plastic appear opaque and dull, and takes away from its original intention to provide aesthetic benefits. 

Solutions to Avoid Scratching: 

Clean your aligners lightly, either using a soft-bristled toothbrush with a clear, non-scented soap or by using a cleaning crystal or tablet specifically designed for cleaning your aligners. The clearer your aligners, the more aesthetically pleasing your smile will be.

5. Changing Trays Too Early

You are motivated to get it completed. After five days of being in the current tray, and feeling “loose”, you may want to switch to the next tray sooner than expected to accomplish this faster!

The Situation:

This is a mistake! Just because the current tray is loose does not mean the bone repairs have been completed. When you are moving teeth, there are two processes happening – dissolving bone on one side and rebuilding bone on the other. If you advance too quickly before the bone has a chance to rebuild, you can cause root resorption (which shortens the root) or make your teeth so loose that they will fall out.

How to Not Make This Mistake:

Follow the recommended timeline as outlined by your dentist at Thyme Dental (whether it be 7 days, 10 days, 14 days, or any other reason). It is based on biology and not just how well it fits. Trust the process.

6. Ignoring the “Chewies”

Mistake #1: After inserting your new aligner (tray), you used your thumbs to push it up into place, thinking it was seated, and continued on with your day without doing anything else to properly position the aligner.

Why It Matters: While you may feel like your new tray is seated in place, in reality there can be very small gaps between the tooth and the aligner. If the aligner does not make full contact with the tooth/teeth, then the tooth/teeth will not move as they should. As you continue to use additional trays, these small gaps will build-up over time and your trays will no longer fit correctly.

How to Avoid It: Chewies are small foam cylindrical objects that we provide for our patients. When the patient inserts their new tray, they should bite down on the chewie for 3-5 minutes while moving it around in their mouth. Biting down on the chewie will help to “seat” the aligner more tightly against the teeth.

7. Skipping the Floss

Your Mistake: 

You brush your teeth right after eating lunch and before returning your tray, but you skip using dental floss because you’re in too much of a hurry. 

Why It’s Important: 

With Invisalign, your mouth is completely sealed once it’s put in place. If you return to using your aligners without brushing your teeth, you are effectively keeping any food debris trapped against your gums or teeth and not allowing any saliva to wash it away. This will cause quick swelling of the gums and the development of cavities between teeth. 

How To Correct This: 

Take floss picks with you while you are out of the house; they’re convenient and easy to carry! Remember, it is important to floss every time you wear your aligners.

8. Smoking/Vaping while wearing your aligners:

The Mistake:

Believing the smoke/vapor does not impair the plastic.

Why it is important:

Nicotine and Tar stain walls quickly! When you smoke/vapor while wearing your aligners, you can develop a yellow/brownish color on your aligners immediately. More importantly, smoking reduces blood flow to your gums. Reduced blood flow to your gums slows the rate of tooth movement and increases the risk of gum disease.

How to avoid this mistake:

Hopefully, quitting smoking is at the top of your to-do list! If you cannot quit, you should take out your aligners prior to smoking/vaping. Keep in mind taking out your aligner(s) will reduce your time wearing it by one hour.

Success is in the Details

Invisalign is a miracle of modern dentistry, but it is a tool that relies on your habits. Avoiding these Common Invisalign mistakes ensures that your treatment is faster, cleaner, and more comfortable.

At Thyme Dental, we are your partners in this journey. We don’t just hand you the boxes and wish you luck; we monitor your progress and guide you through these daily challenges.

If you are ever unsure about your routine, or if you feel a tray isn’t fitting right, don’t guess. Call us. We are here to ensure your path to a perfect smile is as smooth as possible.

Ready to start your Invisalign journey the right way? Contact Thyme Dental today for your consultation!