Honestly, the amount of cleaning is way more than I expected... kinda makes me miss my old metal braces sometimes, as weird as that sounds.
That’s not weird at all—I’ve caught myself thinking the same thing for my kid. With the metal braces, it was just brushing around them and moving on. Now we’re doing this whole routine every night with the aligners: soaking, brushing (but not too hard), then checking for any cloudy spots. My daughter gets so frustrated if there’s even a hint of haze left over.
We tried those fizzy cleaning tablets but honestly, I’m not sure they do much? She says they taste a bit weird too. Has anyone found a method that actually keeps them clear without leaving an aftertaste? I’m starting to wonder if we’re just being too picky about it.
Also—has anyone had issues with aligners getting scratched up from using regular toothbrushes? I keep reading different advice and it’s kind of confusing...
Totally get the frustration—aligners are like needy little pets compared to old-school braces. The fizzy tablets are hit or miss, honestly. I’ve seen better luck with just a super soft toothbrush and clear, unscented hand soap (yep, really). The trick is gentle circles, not scrubbing like you’re cleaning a grill. Regular toothbrushes can scratch them up if the bristles are too stiff, so those baby toothbrushes work surprisingly well. And yeah, the cloudy spots drive everyone nuts... sometimes it’s just from tiny scratches, not actual grime.
