Our morning coffees are absolutely essential in keeping us awake and productive throughout the day. So, it is totally understandable to be concerned about the question can you drink coffee with clear braces? Clear aligners have been an incredible development in orthodontics regarding their flexibility in integrating into your lifestyle. They don’t require you to give up anything you would usually eat or drink as they can be removed for meals. However, for optimal results, you want to be keeping aligners in as much as possible. With a bit of planning and care, you definitely don’t have to be denied your caffeine kick by your clear aligners.
Can You Drink Coffee With Clear Braces?
Before we address the question can you drink hot drinks with aligners, you may be asking why does coffee stain your teeth? Coffee contains an ingredient called tannins which are a type of polyphenol also found in wine and tea. They cause colour compounds to stick to your tea and make them appear more yellow. The same thing can happen with your clear aligners which makes them appear less invisible and more discoloured.
Traditional braces are notorious for being difficult to eat and drink with. There are tales of people having braces stains on their teeth after their removal, brackets cracking after someone tried to eat something a bit too optimistic.
Clear aligners remove that whole concern and allow you to eat totally normally throughout your treatment. The only added step is to ensure your mouth and aligners are clean after you eat or drink. And that is the simple answer to your question! Drinking hot drinks is not a problem if you remove your aligners beforehand.
There are other ways to continue to enjoy coffee during your treatment. If you like your coffee iced, used a straw when you drink to avoid your aligners or you can clean your aligners immediately after you drink to avoid stains.
How to Avoid Coffee Satins on your Teeth and Aligners
If you are very concerned about can you drink hot drinks with aligners without stains, the simple solution would be to decrease or stop your consumption of coffee all together. However, we understand that this is not the solution for everyone and, luckily, clear aligners are very flexible regarding food and drink.
An easy way to avoid your aligners being stained by coffee is to remove them when you drink it. Having said this, it is also important to remember that you need to keep your aligners in as much as possible. The consequences of constantly removing your aligners are expanded upon below but the best way to avoid removing your aligners more times than recommended is to plan when you will consume your hot drinks to coincide with your meals. This means that you will remove your aligners before you start drinking anything that will stain your aligners and you can maintain consistent wear and achieve your great results.
If you are concerned about your teeth being stained by coffee, there are steps you can take to avoid any discolouration. Practicing good oral hygiene consistently or rinsing your mouth after drinking coffee will reduce your risk of staining. In cases where teeth have already been stained, whitening treatments, like EZ Smile Teeth Whitening Gel, are safe and effective in making those pearly whites sparkle again.
Can You Drink Hot Drinks With Aligners?
Coffee is certainly not the only beverage in question regarding the concern can you drink hot drinks with aligners. People may enjoy tea, hot chocolate, warm milk or even hot water and be concerned about whether they can still enjoy their warm drinks without worrying about their treatments. The answer to your question can you drink hot drinks with aligners is yes but there are a few things to keep in mind.
When drinking tea or water that has just poured from a kettle, the temperature of the drink is much hotter than a coffee so you won’t want drink anything boiling hot with your aligners in. Either wait for the temperature of the drink to cool or briefly remove your aligners while your drink.
The other thing to be aware of is the risk of staining your aligners with drinks like tea and coffee. As mentioned above, try planning when you will drink hot drinks that are likely to cause discolouration and stains on your aligners. If you plan to consume them at the same time as a meal, it will minimise the time your aligners are out of your mouth and make maintaining the cleanliness of your teeth easier.
The Importance of Keeping Your Aligner on
Though this article is addressing the question can you drink coffee with aligners, it is very important to emphasise that you should stick to keeping your aligner in as much as you possibly can. Although tempting, you do not want to be leaving your aligners out of your mouth for extended periods of time to drink or eat. This is because your beautiful results rely on committing to your 20+ hours of wear per day in order to quickly and effectively move your teeth.
The EZ Smile straightening process involves putting consistent pressure on your teeth over continuous periods of time with the aligners to shift their positions into a more desirable alignment. If you are consistently removing your aligners to eat and drink, the process may take longer and be less effective. It also may make it difficult when transitioning between different sets of aligners if your teeth have lagged in their straightening.
EZ Smile is designed to be convenient and flexible regarding what you eat and drink but it is important to always be mindful. The best way to get the most out of your treatment is to ensure you wear your aligners diligently and avoid removing them multiple times a day.
Can I Drink Coffee After I Have Finished With My Aligners?
When you have finished with your treatment, eating and drinking will become less involved and require less planning. Unlike the question can you drink coffee with aligners, the concern about drinking coffee after treatment is not much different from anyone else’s concerns. Excessive consumption of coffee can cause teeth stains on anyone so it is still very important to keep practicing good oral hygiene. You may also consider teeth whitening to remove any discolouration from coffee which is a great way to show your teeth some love and continue to enjoy the drinks you want to. So, the short answer is yes!
Another aspect of your life post treatment is wearing your retainer at night to ensure that your teeth remain in position. So, you may be wondering can you drink hot drink with retainers that you wear at night? Though you should probably be avoiding coffee right before bed anyway, make sure you have finished eating and drinking and that your teeth are clean before popping them in for the night. Remove them in the morning before eating or drinking and go about your day as normal!
Conclusion
If your caffeine addiction was something getting in the way of getting your dream smile with clear aligners, think again! As you can see, you can easily integrate your clear aligners into your everyday life which includes eating and drinking habits.
EZ Smile offer clear aligners that are super effective for a fraction of the cost and inconvenience of traditional braces.
You can always contact the EZ Smile team to enquire about our clear aligners and we will be happy to answer your questions. Take the free 30 second assessment on our website to see if EZ Smile if right for you!