Picture this:
You’ve just started your Invisalign treatment. Your orthodontist hands you your new aligners.
They look just the way you thought they would.
But then you’re given something else: a pack of miniature foam pool noodles.
What are these?
Those squishy little cylinders would be your Invisalign chewies.
What Are Invisalign Chewies?
Clear aligner chewies are also called aligner tray seaters. These are orthodontic accessories that can help improve the outcome of your Invisalign treatment. Chewies are made of a plastic foam called styrene copolymer. They are quite small, but some may be a bit longer. The tubes have hollow centers, and they are often scented to match their color.
For example, pink chewies are bubblegum flavored; yellow ones smell like pineapple, green ones are mint, and so on.
But the plain, unscented white kind is also very popular.
To use chewies, you quite simply chew on them for a few seconds after inserting your clear aligners.
As you straighten your teeth, chewies can help your treatment faster and more comfortable.
Are Invisalign Aligner Tray Seaters Included In the Treatment?
Invisalign aligner tray seaters are not actually included with your Invisalign treatment. There are several different Invisalign accessories, but tray seaters are not included in the lineup.
Chewies come separate from Invisalign aligners as other dental supply companies produce them.
Your orthodontist may specifically recommend chewies if he or she feels that they can make your aligner trays fit better. But some orthodontists don’t believe chewies are necessary.
You can ask your orthodontist if they can give you a sample of chewies to try, or you can order them on your own.
Invisalign Chewies: How To Use Them
Chewies’ premise is simple, but there is a trick to using them without choking on these little foam tubes!
Here are the basic steps to follow:
- Place your aligner trays over your clean teeth.
- Firmly hold the end of a chewy by grasping it between your thumb and forefinger.
- Starting with the back teeth on your left or right side, bite down on the free end of the chewy.
- Gradually move the chewy around to the other side of your mouth, carefully biting down on it over and over again with your aligner trays until each tooth has had a turn.
- Repeat until your aligners are snugly seated on your teeth.
- Clean off your chewy and return it to a safe storage place, such as your clear aligner case.
- You can reuse a chewy multiple times, but switch to a new one if your chewy has lost its firmness.
Some clear aligner wearers who have used chewies claim that they can just toss the chewy in their mouth and chomp on it for a few seconds like it’s a piece of gum.
Doing it this way can get a bit messy, however. If you put the whole chewy in your mouth, it could get waterlogged with saliva. There’s also the risk that you could choke on or swallow a small chewy.
So your safest bet is to hold the chewy between your fingers at all times while biting onto it.
There isn’t a specific length of time you have to use your chewy for. A few seconds are all you need. It’s hard to overdo it, but you don’t have to keep chewing if you find that doing so makes your teeth sore.
Your local orthodontic team can show you the best way to use your chewies. He or she may also supervise your technique the first time you put in your aligners.
Chewies are small, lightweight, and springy, so you will almost certainly drop and even lose a few. Keep one or even two clean chewies with you in your aligner case at all times so that you will always have one with you each time you put your aligners in.
Benefits of Using Invisalign Chewies: What Are Chewies Supposed To Do For Invisalign? m
What’s the point of using chewies?
They do three things:
- Help your aligners fit better
- Eliminate air gaps in your aligners
- Help your teeth move faster.
Aligner Chewies Help You Fit Your Invisalign Aligners Properly
If your aligners aren’t properly seated, they won’t move your crooked teeth very well. Biting on chewies for just a few seconds can help your aligner to get a better fit.
Avoid Air Gaps Between Invisalign Trays and Your Teeth
Poorly fitted aligners leave air gaps between the trays and your teeth. This can be uncomfortable for some people. One way to minimize Invisalign pain is by using chewies for seating your trays and eliminating the gap between your teeth and aligners.
Dental Chewies Can Help Straighten Your Teeth Faster
The action of chewing in itself is right for your teeth during orthodontic treatment. It helps to stimulate the tissues around your tooth roots, priming your teeth to respond quickly to the pressure from your clear aligners.
There is often some discomfort when putting in a tight new Invisalign aligner for the first time. Chewing on chewies can encourage your teeth to adjust quickly to their new positions. This will relieve your discomfort and help your treatment go by faster.
You can’t chew food or gum with clear aligners, so chewies are the perfect way to let your teeth benefit from the action of chewing without damaging your Invisalign trays.
Chew with Caution!
There are a few precautions you should take when it comes to using chewies safely.
- Be aware of the choking hazard. It’s worth stating again: you should avoid tossing whole chewies in your mouth and chewing on them like chewing gum. Their small size makes them easy to store in your aligner case, but this doesn’t make them safe to chew whole. You can minimize the risk of choking on a chewy by holding onto it while seating your aligners.
- Talk with your orthodontist before letting your kids use chewies. Most chewies are quite small, and some kids start orthodontic treatment at a young age. As clear aligner technology continues to evolve, more young kids are also benefiting from Invisalign treatment.
If your young child has clear aligners, talk with their orthodontist before giving them chewies. Their orthodontist will help you determine whether or not your child is ready to use chewies safely.
Most kids’ teeth respond quite well to orthodontic treatment, so chewies may not even be necessary for your child.
Shop around for different kinds of chewies. A few different companies make clear aligner tray seaters, and some are longer than others. You may have to browse a few seller websites and even try a few products before finding a chewy that works for you.
Clean your chewies after each use. Saliva-soaked foam chewies provide the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Give your chewies a good rinsing after each use. You can even use mild hand soap to help them stay clean.
Used correctly, chewies are a great way to get the most out of your clear aligner treatment. All of the best teeth aligners, Invisalign included, will work even better with the help of chewies!
Contact your orthodontist or Invisalign doctor to learn more about the benefits of chewies for Invisalign treatment.
FAQ
Chewies help your Invisalign trays to fit better. As a result, your treatment will be more comfortable, and your teeth will rapidly adjust to each new tray. This could even help your overall treatment plan go by quicker.
You should use clear aligner tray seaters every time you put in your aligner trays. However, your orthodontist may simply recommend that you use chewies only once a day.
Yes, you can reuse each of your chewies multiple times. Just make sure to clean them well after each use. Once a chewy starts to get soft and loses its springy firmness, then it’s time to move on to a fresh chewy. That firmness is essential for supplying enough resistance when you bite down on the chewy. Thin, weak chewies won’t be as effective.
At the very least, give your Invisalign chewies a rinse after each use. You can clean them more thoroughly with a little mild hand soap later on. A quick rinse is fine if you don’t have access to soap every time you put your aligner trays back in your mouth, but you should aim to wash them well at least once a day. A thorough cleansing will slow down the growth of smelly bacteria in your chewies, keeping them fresher longer.
There aren’t any specially made dental chewies for Invisalign, so that they won’t be included in your treatment. But your orthodontist can provide you with a sample of chewies to try. You can purchase chewies separately from other orthodontic and dental supply stores.
