Patients often ask us if they can pop a piece of gum while wearing their Invisalign, and honestly, it’s a question worth asking, especially for those out there who chew gum like it’s going out of style. The answer though is a pretty simple no. You shouldn’t be chewing gum while your aligners are in place. There are a couple of reasons why this is so important to get right for your Invisalign treatment. General dentistry focuses on maintaining overall oral health through routine exams, preventive care, and treatments that help keep teeth and gums strong and healthy.

Gum is basically a sticky substance and it’ll stick to the plastic of your Invisalign right away when you chew it with your aligners on. This can warp the shape of your aligner, pull it away from your teeth, or just get stuck in all sorts of awkward places, and let me tell you, that can be a real pain to clean. Each aligner is custom built to fit your teeth at a specific stage of treatment, so even a bit of warping can make all the difference to how well it’s working for you. We here at Dentistry on the Pines want all of our patients to get the best possible results from each set of aligners, but gum can quietly get in the way of all that. Family dentistry provides comprehensive dental care for patients of all ages, making it convenient for the entire family to receive preventive, restorative, and cosmetic treatments in one place.

You should also be worried about keeping things clean when wearing Invisalign aligners. Invisalign creates a warm, tight space over your teeth and when gum residue gets stuck in the aligner, you’re basically sat there with sugar and germs just sitting on your enamel for a long, long time. Even the sugar-free gum can leave tough residue that’s hard to get rid of, and that all adds up to a higher chance of getting cavities and gum line discomfort, which is the last thing you want on top of all the hassle of wearing braces.

Luckily though the solution is pretty simple. You can just take your Invisalign out when you want to chew gum. Give your mouth a quick rinse, wash your aligners, and slap them back in, all done. It takes less than a minute and stops anything getting in the way of your Invisalign treatment. You do need to wear your aligners for around 20 to 22 hours a day for them to work properly though, so you can take them out for gum and stuff, but do keep an eye on how often you take them out and for how long.

People always ask us about little quirks like this when they come to see us here in Vaughan and you’d be surprised how often a small habit like eating gum with your aligners on can slow you down, or even make you have to come back in to see the dentist a bit more often to sort out any damage or just get your teeth cleaned. We prefer it if you can avoid all that from the start. Is it okay to chew gum while wearing Invisalign in Vaughan? Technically your jaw can do that, but we still don’t recommend doing it. Gum is just one of those things that you should treat the way you would with meals and non water drinks, take out your aligners, chew your gum, and stick the aligners back in afterwards with a good clean.

We love getting all these kinds of queries at Dentistry on the Pines because the small stuff really can add up over the course of treatment. If you’ve got any more questions about what to expect with Invisalign, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.