
People do a lot to dodge germs during cold and flu season, but it’s important to keep your Invisalign treatment in mind while taking the necessary precautions. While dealing with a cold or flu can be a royal drag, you don’t want to lose all the progress your orthodontic treatment has made by letting your teeth slip back out of position. Here are a few tips for keeping tooth decay and alignment loss at bay while wearing Invisalign during the cold and flu season.
Stay Hydrated for Oral Health
Healthy saliva flow is a crucial part of your mouth’s natural cleaning process, but dealing with a cold or the flu can be taxing on your body’s water supply. Saliva production also decreases during sleep, making teeth even more vulnerable to infection and decay. Counteract this by drinking plenty of water during the cold and flu season, and this will help your body produce an ample flow of saliva that will help wash food debris away from your mouth while diluting harmful substances.
Protect Your Teeth from Harmful Influences
Dealing with a respiratory infection can make you want to indulge in comfort foods and beverages, but this can cause complications for your Invisalign treatment. While cough drops can provide relief for scratchy throats, many of them are high in sugars and will coat your teeth in a sugary residue that feeds the bacteria that cause gum disease and tooth decay. Cough syrup is similarly high in the sweet stuff, so rinse your mouth out thoroughly if you take it before going to bed.
While this is unpleasant to discuss, stomach acid is very harsh on teeth. If you are vomiting, be sure to rinse your mouth out afterward. While you’ll probably want to brush your teeth immediately, it’s important to wait until thirty minutes afterward so your enamel has time to recover from the acid exposure.
Stay on Top of Your Oral Hygiene
While it can be difficult to get out of bed to perform oral hygiene when you are sick, it’s important to continue cleaning your teeth as usual. This should include brushing at least twice, flossing, and using antibacterial mouthwash on a daily basis. Neglecting this crucial regimen can lead to tooth decay and other oral infections that can be significant setbacks for your orthodontic treatments.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Graffeo earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the New York University College of Dentistry in 1990 before completing his residency there. He continues his education through prestigious organizations such as the Dawson Academy, the Pankey Institute, and SPEAR Education. His office in Hoboken, NJ offers general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as Invisalign treatments. For more information on keeping up with your Invisalign treatment, contact his office online or dial (201) 683-3531.