Beverages That Affect Your Invisalign

Getting a straighter smile with Invisalign is exciting! But what about your daily coffee or tea habit? If you’re worried about giving up your favorite drinks during treatment, we have good news for you.

You can absolutely keep enjoying coffee and tea while wearing Invisalign! You just need to know a few simple rules to protect your aligners and keep your treatment on track. Continue reading this blog from Dr. Mallory Scott at Indigo Orthodontics and get everything you need to know about sipping your favorite drinks while straightening your smile.

Why Your Morning Cup Matters to Your Invisalign

Your Invisalign is specially made to fit your teeth perfectly and gently move them into better positions. When you understand how coffee and tea can affect these aligners, you’ll see why certain habits matter:

When hot drinks meet your aligners, the heat can change their shape. Think about what happens when you leave a plastic water bottle in a hot car – it can warp a little. The same thing happens to your aligners when they get too warm, and this can mess up how they’re supposed to move your teeth.

Coffee and tea contain natural colors that can stain your aligners. These clear “invisible” braces can quickly turn yellowish or brownish when they soak up these colors, making them much more noticeable on your teeth.

Tips 

1. Take Them Out First The number one rule: Always remove your aligners before drinking anything except plain water. This simple step prevents most problems right away.
2. Make a Coffee Schedule Try to enjoy your coffee or tea during meal times when your aligners are already out. This helps you maintain your daily wear time without extra interruptions.
3. Quick Mouth Care After Drinks After finishing your drink, at least rinse your mouth with water before putting your aligners back in. Even better – brush your teeth quickly if you can. This prevents stains and keeps everything fresh.
4. The Cooling Period Let your mouth cool down after hot drinks before putting your aligners back in. Even the leftover warmth in your mouth could affect the plastic.
5. The Cold Option On busy days, consider switching to iced coffee or tea occasionally. You still need to take your aligners out (because of staining), but you won’t need to wait for your mouth to cool down afterward.
6. Straw Strategy For cold drinks, using a straw keeps the liquid away from your front teeth, which helps reduce staining when you put your aligners back in.
7. Color Choices Matter If you’re really concerned about staining, lighter drinks like white tea or blonde roast coffee stain less than darker options like black tea or dark roast coffee.

20-22 Hours of Wear Time

For your Invisalign treatment to work correctly and finish on time, you need to wear your aligners for 20-22 hours every day. This leaves just 2-4 hours total for all eating, drinking, brushing, and flossing combined.

Every hour counts toward your perfect smile! Missing wear time can slow down your progress and even extend your total treatment time.

Visit Indigo Orthodontics for your Invisalign treatment

At Indigo Orthodontics in Columbia, SC, we believe that straightening your teeth should fit into your real life, not disrupt it. When you choose us for your Invisalign journey, you’re getting a team that understands the little things that matter – like your morning coffee ritual.

Ready to start your journey to a straighter smile without giving up your favorite drinks? Contact us today to schedule your appointment. We’ll show you how Invisalign can work with your life, one sip at a time!