What's a Few More Days, Anyways?

To suit my personal schedule better & begin each new set on Sunday nights, I've decided to prolong switching to the next set of trays just by 3 days. I OK'd this with my dental people first & they agreed that would be fine - just not to shorten the 2 week term.My dental staff currently have patients in a broad range of ages: the youngest being 18; some in their 20's & 30's - even in their forties. Seems I have earned the distinction (not that I'm real thrilled about this) of being their eldest Invisalign patient yet - I'm going to be 50 in ~ 8 months.

Remembering that my own Mother was in her early 30's when she got a full set of dentures & both my in-laws had partial sets since about the same age, I'm thankful to be able to have my own healthy teeth to even consider an option like straightening them at this stage in my life.

Was looking through my starter kit & realized I've not used my little blue carrying case yet as I've always been able to just soak my trays in a small container of water while eating so far. Sometimes I add a drop or two of liquid anti-bacterial dish soap to the water, then just brush them after I eat - no paste or anything on the brush. I've read of others using all sorts of concoctions to keep that "whitish film" from forming: Listerine or hydrogen peroxide soaks; Efferdent denture cleaner tabs; Retainer Brite; vinegar + baking soda fizzies & of course, Invisalign's own (expensive) ultrasonic machine/crystals.

On about the 8th tray set I got lazy & began using Efferdent tablets each morning for soaking my trays in while I ate breakfast. A few times a week I'd add 3-4 drops of household chlorine bleach to my evening cup of soaking water to help disinfect & clean my trays. After lunch I'd just brush them with a bit of toothpaste. Following that routine worked really well - my trays have always stayed sparkling clean & they've suffered no damage. Made life a little easier.

The edges on my trays are perfectly smooth without rough spots to irritate at all unlike a lot of others' experience.