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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.
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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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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
Find the best at-home clear aligners for mild misalignment. See our expert recommendations.
Invisalign offers some distinct benefits, regardless of unintended weight loss:
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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