Can You Eat and Drink With Invisalign? An Orthodontist’s Complete Guide

The short answer: Take your Invisalign or Angel Aligners out to eat anything and to drink anything other than plain water. Many foods and drinks are acidic or staining, and with your trays in, that acid gets trapped under the aligner and sits on your enamel. Water is always fine. Coffee and red wine are hard nos. An occasional cocktail or glass of bubbly with trays in is okay as long as you brush well afterward.

What is the rule for eating and drinking with Invisalign?

My day one rule for Invisalign patients is simple: take your aligners out while you’re eating anything or drinking anything besides water.

Here’s why. A lot of the foods you eat and a lot of what you drink is acidic. When you eat or drink with your aligners in, that acid gets trapped under the aligner and rests on your enamel. Over time, that can weaken the enamel, especially if you’re not great about brushing.

The way I put it to patients: sipping something sugary or acidic with your trays in is basically like putting battery acid on your teeth. Don’t do it.

Can you eat with Invisalign in?

I’ll be honest, some orthodontists say, “Go ahead, eat with your aligners in.” I once went on a date with a guy who ate an entire steak dinner with his aligners in. The thinking behind it: chewing creates inflammation, and inflammation is the environment teeth love to move in. You’re basically chewing your teeth into position. So it’s not the worst idea.

My rule for my patients is still trays out when you eat. A lot of food is acidic too, and I’d rather it not sit against your enamel under a tray.

What can you drink with Invisalign in?

Water is always good. Here’s how I think about the rest:

• Sparkling water: I drink it with my aligners in. Just know it’s acidic too.
• Champagne, beer, margaritas and cocktails: I’ve had them with my aligners in. It’s not a habit, and when you break the rule, brush well afterward so none of it is left resting on your teeth.
• White wine: I’ve done it. Red wine with trays in would be ridiculous.
• Coffee, black or with milk: absolutely not.
• Smoothies: I haven’t, and I wouldn’t.

Where do I draw the line? Anything you think will stain your teeth will probably stain your aligners too, and you’re stuck with that aligner for a week. Anything super acidic can get trapped under the aligner and weaken your enamel, so I’d stay away from that as well.

How do you drink coffee with Invisalign?

Take your aligners out first. I drink my coffee, hot or iced, through a straw. It gets that tooth-staining liquid behind my front teeth and helps minimize staining.

If you’re at the office and just finished a coffee, swish with a whitening mouth rinse before your aligners go back in. It puts a little hydrogen peroxide on your teeth to help keep things from staining.

Do you have to brush every time before you put Invisalign back in?

In an ideal world, yes. In the real world, I’m around toothbrushes all day and I still don’t always have time to brush before my aligners go back in. So here’s what I do instead:

• Chew sugar-free gum. It picks up particles on your teeth and gets your saliva going before your aligners go back in.
• Suck on sugar-free mints with xylitol, a cavity-fighting ingredient, while your aligners are in. They get saliva flowing over your teeth.

I share more of these in my aligner tips and tricks video.

If your aligners are going to be out for a long stretch and you won’t be snacking afterward, don’t stress. Enjoy the dinner and give yourself a really good brush and floss before bed. If you feel guilty leaving them out that long, chew some gum or suck on a sugar-free mint and get them back in.

Will Invisalign stop you from snacking?

This is the myth I hear most: “All my snacking is going to stop.” It doesn’t have to. Take your aligners out, enjoy the snack, and use the gum or mint trick when you can’t brush.

For grazers and all-day coffee sippers, it’s about picking your battles. If you don’t feel like you’re hitting your wear time and you’re on a 7-day tray schedule, wear each aligner a few extra days. Maybe switch every 10 days instead. The goal is to wear each aligner long enough that the next one fits like a glove. (More on that in the 22-hour rule.)

Funny enough, some of my patients find they’re less snacky during treatment, and a few tell me they’ve lost weight because they’re eating differently.

How do busy New Yorkers do it with aligners?

Close the deal. Enjoy date night. Just be really good afterward, and make sure your next aligner seats really well when it goes back in.

Every new Smile Pop patient gets a new patient bag with toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, chewies and a case, basically everything you need to get the job done. The little extras I tell people to keep in their bag: sugar-free gum and sugar-free mints.

Can food stain Invisalign attachments?

Yes. Foods with turmeric, saffron or ginger can turn your attachments bright yellow, whether you’re in Invisalign or Angel Aligners. I once had a patient who had just started treatment suck on a turmeric gummy at night. By the morning, all of her attachments were bright yellow.

What helps if your aligners don’t seat well after meals?

I had a patient who really struggled with eating and drinking around her aligners. What turned it around was a Munchies Vibe, a vibration device that helps aligners seat better. If your trays feel like they’re not snapping all the way back in after meals, ask your orthodontist about one.

And if your trays still aren’t tracking, we don’t just push through. We’ll rescan you and design a new set of aligners that fits better to get you back on track.

Curious how all of this fits into your overall timeline? Read how long Invisalign actually takes.

Want an aligner plan that fits how you eat and live?

Some patients just can’t make daytime wear work, and that’s okay. Tell us. For some cases, we design a treatment plan where you wear your aligners at nighttime only. It takes longer, but when it’s planned that way from the start, it can still get you there.

At Smile Pop in NoMad, we build your Invisalign or Angel Aligners plan around your real life, coffee, business lunches and date nights included. Book your consult at 76 Madison Ave and let’s talk about it.

About Dr. Courtney Barry

Dr. Courtney Barry is a board-certified orthodontist and the founder of Smile Pop, a boutique orthodontic and aesthetics practice at 76 Madison Ave in NoMad, Manhattan, open since 2019.

She trained at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Southern Illinois University, the University of Florida and Montefiore in New York, then learned to design smiles around the face under her mentor, Dr. David Sarver.

She treats adults and kids as young as 7 with Invisalign and Angel Aligners, and personally performs every treatment.