Exercising with Invisalign

With Invisalign, you never have to slow down your busy, active lifestyle. There’s not much you have to change during your day-to-day routine when getting invisalign treatment. At most, there’s only a few key pieces of advice to keep in mind while you’re working towards a healthier smile and a healthier body.

Exercising with invisalign poses fewer risks than exercising with traditional metal braces. Often, the metal hardware used in braces can cause gashes to the inside of the cheeks, lips, or gums if contact of any kind is made to the mouth. With Invisalign, you have less to keep in mind as you move.

When to Remove Your Invisalign Aligners During Exercise

When engaging in any activity, whether it is going on a run, playing tennis, or attending your weekly CrossFit sessions, it’s important to remove your Invisalign aligners beforehand. Dryness or an extra accumulation of spit can make your mouth feel uncomfortable. It is also important to remove your Invisalign and put them in a safe place, such as a plastic case, and to be sure to put them back in your mouth once you are finished with your workout session. 

If you’re doing a low impact activity like yoga that offers no serious chance of a facial injury, you can still wear your aligner but you don’t have to as long as you are following your orthodontist’s instructions by wearing them 22 hours of the day. It is still important to hydrate more than you normally would. Sometimes, Invisalign aligners can lead to a dryness in the mouth, so make sure you always have a bottle of water handy, no matter how much you anticipate sweating. It’s important to avoid an excessively dry mouth because that tends to lead to gum disease, plaque, and tooth decay.

When taking out your aligner, be sure to put them into a designated and sanitized case. Avoid shoving them in your pockets or the bottom of your gym bag. The gym already plays host to a myriad of germs and bacteria, so best avoid getting these near your mouth

Wearing a Mouthguard

For those who are especially active and do activities that increase the risk of facial injury, instead of wearing your Invisalign, you should be wearing a mouthguard instead. When playing sports or engaging in an activity that has the chance of some sort of high contact (like playing football or doing karate) it’s important to always wear a mouthguard. It is especially important to protect your teeth during your Invisalign treatment because your teeth, gums, and jaws are sensitive from the re-aligning of your Invisalign treatment. Work with your orthodontist to determine the best mouthguard for you! 

Be sure to do similar hygienic upkeep with your mouthguard and case as you do with your Invisalign aligners and case. Be sure to store your mouthguard in a clean, dry plastic case and regularly rinse the mouthguard or case, or use dental cleaning tablets.