What Can You Eat and Drink with Clear Aligners?

One of the most common practical questions people have about clear aligners is what they can and cannot eat or drink while wearing them. The good news is that you can eat virtually anything you want during treatment. The key is understanding when to have your aligners in and when to take them out.

The Main Rule: Remove Before Eating

You should always remove your clear aligners before eating solid food. Unlike braces, aligners are removable, which means there are no restrictions on the types of food you can eat during treatment. Hard foods, chewy foods, crunchy foods, sticky foods — all of these are fine, because you eat them with your aligners out.

The reason you must remove aligners before eating is twofold. First, chewing with aligners in can crack or distort the plastic, damaging the tray. Second, food and debris can get trapped between the aligner and your teeth, dramatically increasing the risk of decay and staining.

What About Drinks?

Water is the only drink that is completely safe to consume with your aligners in. Plain, still water does not stain the plastic, does not contain sugars that could get trapped against your teeth, and does not affect the material.

Hot drinks such as tea, coffee, and anything above roughly 40 degrees Celsius should be consumed with aligners out. The heat can warp the plastic, which affects the fit and therefore the effectiveness of the tray.

Sugary drinks, sports drinks, juice, and soft drinks should also be consumed with aligners out. The sugar and acid get trapped between the aligner and the tooth surface, creating an ideal environment for decay. Even diet soft drinks, which are acidic, can damage enamel when they sit against the tooth under the aligner for extended periods.

Alcohol is best consumed with aligners removed too, for the same reasons as sugary drinks.

Foods to Be Careful With

Since you eat with aligners out, there are no true food restrictions during aligner treatment. However, there are a few things worth being mindful of.

Particularly hard or sticky foods, if you are also wearing attachments as part of your treatment, may occasionally dislodge them. Attachments are small tooth-coloured bumps bonded to the tooth surface that help the aligner grip the tooth for certain movements. If you lose an attachment, contact the Jawology clinical team to have it replaced.

Staining foods like coffee, red wine, turmeric and berries are fine to eat, but rinse your mouth before reinserting your aligners. These foods will not stain your teeth themselves during treatment, but if residue is on your teeth when the aligner goes back in, it can get pressed against the enamel and contribute to surface discolouration over time.

What to Do After Eating

Ideally, you should brush your teeth after every meal before reinserting your aligners. This keeps your teeth clean and prevents debris from being trapped against the enamel under the tray.

If brushing is not practical, such as when eating out, rinsing your mouth thoroughly with water before putting aligners back in is a reasonable alternative. Carry a travel toothbrush if you can, as brushing is genuinely better than rinsing alone.

Keeping Your Wear Time Up

Every meal and snack is an opportunity to lose wear time. Aligners need to be worn for 20 to 22 hours per day to be effective. If you are a frequent snacker or graze throughout the day, you may find it helpful to consolidate eating into fewer, more deliberate meals so that removal time does not add up and eat into your daily wear target.

Frequently Asked Questions