What is Invisalign Chewies ?
Invisalign chewies is a device used to close the air bubbles between your aligners and teeth and improve the grip of aligners on your teeth. They are known by many names – Invisalign chew sticks, aligner chewies, aligner tray seaters, aligner seaters, and so on.
They are made of soft plastic material known as styrene copolymer. Aligner chewies look like a pencil or cotton roll. This shape and size are to facilitate the grip between the aligners. It also comes in flavors to make it more interesting and desirable for kids and young teens.
Read on to know:
How to Use the aligner tray seaters?
Keep the tray seaters in between your teeth when you are wearing Invisalign. Keep biting it up in your mouth from one end to the other until you’ve bitten it from all corners of your mouth and with all your teeth.
Repeat this activity a few times for at least 20 seconds. Keep the frequency twice a day. The Invisalign needs to be fully seated on your teeth for it to move your teeth effectively. Therefore most orthodontists recommend using chewies with Invisalign.
The Invisalign chewies are small enough in size, so you can easily carry them with you in your Invisalign case. This way, you won’t miss chewing them in case you are out traveling.
Do Invisalign Chewies Have Any Side Effects?
They don’t have any side effects. Some minor pain or discomfort is evident as you bite the aligner seater with your aligners on your teeth. However, if you are not using them correctly, you may feel more discomfort and pain. If this happens, you can take suggestions from your orthodontists to use chewies correctly.
The pain can be more intense with new aligners, but it’s not a side effect. You can stop using aligner chewies till your pain subsides. You can also try OTC pain medication to get relief.
Can You Reuse the Invisalign chew sticks?
The good thing about Invisalign chew sticks is that they are reusable. So aligner chewies, you can use them until they don’t lose their shape. A simple thing to remember is to clean the aligner chewies each time you use them with soap or toothpaste.
You can get their multipacks so that you can quickly move to another once the one you use goes out of shape.
Can Aligner Chewies Speed up the Invisalign Treatment?
The purpose of using chewies with Invisalign is to care for the fitting of aligners on the teeth. And that is the most crucial factor of the Invisalign treatment. The aligners put gentle pressure on your teeth to move them to the desired place. Therefore their fitting on teeth can also get loose after some time.
The Chewies are crucial as they maintain the fit of your aligners so that the aligners keep shifting the teeth in the correct position.
Other FAQs
Where to Buy Invisalign Chewies?
When you begin your treatment, your orthodontist provides you with multiple aligner tray seaters. Once you run out of that, you can get them easily from a local drug store or a grocery store.
Are There Any Alternatives to Invisalign Chewies?
You can try alternatives like movemints which are edible mints, and silicon munchies. They also help your aligners to get the right fit on your teeth.
Can You Eat the Aligner Tray Seaters?
Sorry! You can’t eat your aligner tray seaters, made of soft plastic, and you can’t eat plastic! You can opt for “movemints,” which is an edible mint if you are interested in snacking along with enhancing the fitting of your aligners.
Aligner chewies are especially effective when you first put on a new set of Invisalign. They are a great help when it comes to improving the fitting of aligners and removing the air bubble. And the best time to use the aligner chewies is at night so that your aligners remain snuggled to your teeth all night.
So keep wearing your Invisalign chewies to speed up your Invisalign treatment and quickly reach a beautified smile and healthy bite!
Dr. Brian Thurman has spent his entire life enjoying all the beauty that California has to offer. A Fresno native, he still escapes to the ocean or the mountains whenever his busy schedule allows. Driven by his love for natural beauty, Dr. Thurman enjoys creating beautiful smiles and healthy bites that last a lifetime. He is proud to be the only Ivy League trained Orthodontist in the Fresno/Clovis area.