Updated on February 22, 2024
4 min read

Can Invisalign Cause Weight Loss?

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Can Invisalign Cause Weight Loss?

People undergoing treatment with Invisalign sometimes notice they lose weight. While Invisalign is not intended to affect your weight, it may do so indirectly.

Invisalign is a form of clear aligner treatment. Clear aligners are designed to correct misaligned teeth, providing a more discreet alternative to braces.

invisalign with case

Like braces, Invisalign can lead to dietary and lifestyle changes.1, 2, 3 These changes may not be significant on a daily basis, but they can lead to weight loss over time.

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How Invisalign Can Lead to Weight Loss

Because of how Invisalign works, it may indirectly lead to weight loss. This is mainly due to how Invisalign affects what and when you eat.

By changing your daily routine, Invisalign may lead to changes that start subtle and become more noticeable throughout treatment.

Eating with Invisalign

Invisalign doesn’t require changing what you eat or drink. It does, however, affect how and when you can eat and drink. This can end up altering your diet.

Here are the key aspects of Invisalign treatment that can affect your diet:

  • Your aligners have to be removed before meals to avoid damage
  • Before putting your aligners back in, you must brush your teeth and rinse your mouth
  • While your aligners are in, you can only drink water (other drinks risk staining your aligners)
  • You must wear your aligners for 20 to 22 hours per day (leaving 2 to 4 hours for meals and oral hygiene)

These requirements can make you approach food differently. To drink a soda or eat a snack between meals, you must remove your aligners and put them in their case. You would also have to brush your teeth afterward.

In short, Invisalign makes snacking less convenient.4 Over several weeks or months, a decrease in casual snacking could lead to weight loss.

Compounding Habits

Invisalign treatment will cause you to form some new habits. Removing, replacing, and cleaning your aligners will become a part of your regular routine. It may also alter your dietary habits.

Invisalign can also lead you to associate eating with mealtime rather than snacking. It may also lead to a lasting habit of brushing your teeth after every meal. These new habits could indirectly contribute to lower calorie consumption.

Weight Loss Shouldn’t be the Goal

The purpose of Invisalign is to straighten your teeth and improve your smile and oral health, not to lose weight.

However, you may already want to lose weight and appreciate Invisalign making it easier. If this is the case, keep the following in mind:

  • Don’t expect weight loss from Invisalign — don’t pursue Invisalign treatment for weight loss. You may welcome it as a side effect, but don’t make it the focus of treatment.
  • You want better habits, not extreme changes — snacking less is a change of habit that can have positive, long-term health effects. But always be sure to get adequate nutrition.

Find the best at-home clear aligners for mild misalignment. See our expert recommendations.

What are the Benefits of Invisalign?

Invisalign offers some distinct benefits, regardless of unintended weight loss:

Straighter Teeth

The most obvious benefit of Invisalign is its main purpose—making your teeth straighter. Like braces and other clear aligners, Invisalign is designed to put pressure on your teeth. Over months of treatment, this pressure brings your teeth into proper alignment.

Invisalign is an in-office clear aligner brand, meaning it involves regular check-ins with the dentist. This allows Invisalign to handle relatively complex cases of misaligned teeth.

Improved Oral Hygiene

Misaligned teeth can be hard to keep clean. You’ll have an easier time brushing and flossing with straighter teeth.

In addition, you may see some improvements in oral hygiene even before treatment is over. During Invisalign treatment, you’ll have to get used to cleaning your teeth after every meal. This may encourage you to make more time for your oral health.

Low Profile

As its name suggests, Invisalign is designed to be virtually unnoticeable.

Unlike braces, clear aligners allow you to undergo orthodontic treatment without drawing unwanted attention. This makes it ideal for teenagers and adults concerned about their image.

Comfort and Convenience

Orthodontic treatment comes with some discomfort and inconvenience. Compared to braces, Invisalign keeps these to a minimum.

Invisalign doesn’t involve brackets or wires covering your teeth or poking the soft tissues in your mouth. These aligners are also removable, allowing you to eat and brush your teeth as you usually would.

Braces can also sometimes affect a person’s speech, which is less likely to be an issue with Invisalign.1, 2

Invisalign vs. Braces

While Invisalign offers some clear advantages over braces, it also has limitations. Clear aligners cannot treat the most severe malocclusions and jaw alignment issues.

Braces are generally considered the most reliable orthodontic treatment method. They exert more pressure than Invisalign can, and they can be combined with other orthodontic devices.

Severely misaligned teeth and/or jaws may require braces. Talk to your dentist to determine what’s best for you.

Summary

Invisalign is a form of orthodontic treatment. It’s intended to provide a discreet, convenient alternative to braces while still being monitored by a dentist.

Because Invisalign can require you to adjust what and how you eat, it may lead to weight loss. For some people, this may be a welcome side effect, but Invisalign isn’t designed to change weight one way or another.

What’s Next?

Discover the best fit for your smile.

Explore top at-home clear aligner brands.

Last updated on February 22, 2024
9 Sources Cited
Last updated on February 22, 2024
All NewMouth content is medically reviewed and fact-checked by a licensed dentist or orthodontist to ensure the information is factual, current, and relevant.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only cite from current scientific research, such as scholarly articles, dentistry textbooks, government agencies, and medical journals. This also includes information provided by the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Association of Orthodontics (AAO), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
  1. Jaber, Samer T., et al. “The Effect of Treatment With Clear Aligners Versus Fixed Appliances on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Severe Crowding: A One-Year Follow-Up Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.” Cureus, 2022.
  2. Alajmi, Saitah, et al. “Comparison of Short-Term Oral Impacts Experienced by Patients Treated with Invisalign or Conventional Fixed Orthodontic Appliances.” Medical Principles and Practice, 2020.
  3. Al Nazeh, Abdullah A., et al. “Relationship between oral health impacts and personality profiles among orthodontic patients treated with Invisalign clear aligners.” Scientific Reports, 2020.
  4. Embiricos, George. “The Invisalign Diet is the Best Diet. Here’s Why.” Food Republic, 2017.
  5. van der Weiden, Anouk et al. “How to Form Good Habits? A Longitudinal Field Study on the Role of Self-Control in Habit Formation.” Frontiers in Psychology, 2020.
  6. Gardner, Benjamin, et al. “Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice.” The British Journal of General Practice, 2012.
  7. Koliaki, Chrysi et al. “Defining the Optimal Dietary Approach for Safe, Effective and Sustainable Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Adults.” Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2018.
  8. Varkevisser, R.D.M., et al. “Determinants of weight loss maintenance: a systematic review.” Obesity Reviews, 2019.
  9. Sawamoto, Ryoko, et al. “Predictors of successful long-term weight loss maintenance: a two-year follow-up.” BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 2017.
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