Honestly, I think “aligners with legs” sums it up pretty well. My son once left his at a friend’s house and swore he’d put them in the case... but the case was at home, naturally. I’ve learned the hard way that no storage solution is foolproof when teens are involved. The keychain idea is clever in theory, but unless it’s welded to their backpack, it’s just another thing to forget.
About the crystals—my daughter hated the aftertaste too, said it smelled like plastic and cleaning supplies had a baby. We switched to just rinsing and brushing with a soft toothbrush (no toothpaste), which her ortho said was fine as long as you’re gentle. Not sure it’s “best practice” but it beats chasing down missing aligners or dealing with weird flavors.
I do wish there was some kind of homing beacon for these things. Maybe someday… For now, I just keep a backup aligner tray at home and cross my fingers.
I do wish there was some kind of homing beacon for these things. Maybe someday…
That would be a lifesaver. I get so anxious about losing mine that I double-check my bag every time I take them out. Even then, I’ve still managed to misplace them once (panic mode, for sure). The cleaning crystals were a no-go for me too—just couldn’t get past that weird taste. I ended up sticking with gentle brushing like you mentioned. It feels like a constant balancing act between keeping them clean and not damaging them. Backup trays are smart... I wish I’d thought of that before my little “aligner hide-and-seek” episode.
It feels like a constant balancing act between keeping them clean and not damaging them.
That’s exactly it. I remember the first week, I was so paranoid about cracking a tray that I barely touched them with the brush. Over time, I found a soft baby toothbrush and just went slow—seems to do the trick without scratching. Did you ever try soaking them in diluted mouthwash? I found it helped with the taste issue, but I’m not sure if it’s great for the plastic long-term.
I get being careful, but I actually stopped using mouthwash on my trays after my orthodontist mentioned it could mess with the plastic over time. Even diluted, some of those ingredients are pretty harsh. I switched to just soaking them in plain water with a denture-cleaning tablet now and then—seems gentler and still keeps them fresh. Anyone else notice that mouthwash can make the trays go a bit cloudy? Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t love that look.
That’s interesting, I didn’t realize mouthwash could actually mess with the trays. I’ve only had mine for a couple weeks and I was rinsing them with mouthwash every night because I thought it’d help with the smell. I did notice they started looking a bit cloudy, but I figured it was just normal wear. Do the denture tablets make them taste weird at all? I’m kind of nervous about switching up my routine, but I definitely don’t want to ruin my trays.