Toothpaste
Even an amazing toothbrush doesn’t get you far without a good toothpaste! Toothpaste should be slightly abrasive and have some sort of restorative property (i.e., fluoride or xylitol). Here are my favorites.
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Invisalign Oral Hygiene Series :: Aligner Tray Cleaning
Aligner Tray Cleaning
Let’s face it, mouths are gross – even when you aren’t eating or drinking, that means your trays can be gross too. Brushing your aligner trays with your toothbrush keeps them clean throughout the day. In addition, I like to perform a daily deep clean to keep them clear and fresh – especially since I occasionally partake of (unsweetened, no dairy!) cold brew coffee with my trays in. After all, coffee-stained trays aren’t terribly invisible. If your goal is to prevent people from knowing you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment, you need to become a zealot about tray cleaning.
Personally, I’m fine with people knowing I have Invisalign – but I still obviously want my aligner tryas to be clean and crystal clear. These items help me achieve that.
Method Fragrance Free Soap
Although you can definitely just use toothpaste on your trays, I prefer to rinse my toothbrush of paste and use an abrasive-free liquid soap for tray cleaning. Method’s fragrance- and dye-free gel hand wash is perfect for this purpose. At only $5-6 for a 34oz bag, this is inexpensive to boot.
Invisalign Oral Hygiene Series :: Toothbrushes
In early December, I had another round of IPR. I am amazed every week at the movement of my teeth! Above is the picture of tray 25 I shared on Instagram a few weeks ago – I start tray 25 next freaking week! Week after next I have my last IPR appointment – from there it’s just periodic check-ins to pick up new trays and make sure I’m tracking properly. As you can see from the picture of 25, above, I still have a ways to go – but if you compare it to my baseline it is already like night and day. Even though my course of treatment involves drastic movement which can involve discomfort, it has been milder than I thought. This has absolutely been worth it to me.
The success of an Invisalign treatment protocol depends heavily on the patient taking the commitment seriously. Part of that commitment is caring for your teeth, trays, and gums. My adherence to stringent oral hygiene Invisalign requires has left my teeth and gums in better shape than they have ever been. Since I’ve been at this for six months now, the healthier habits I’ve cultivated will stay with me and enable me to take better care of my mouth.
Invisalign Oral Hygiene Series
I’ve gone through some trial-and-error to figure out what works best for me. Originally, this was going to be one really long post, but I figured it might be a bit tl;dr. Over the next few weeks I will cover the following oral hygiene product topics:
- Toothbrushes (read below!)
- Aligner Tray Cleaning
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Mouthwash
- Bonus Items
Toothbrushes
December 2017 Favorites
December 2017 Favorites
C.O. Bigelow My Favorite Night Balm, $7.50 / Dove Beauty Bar, varies / Twilight Bath Bomb, $7/ IKEA TOFTBO Bath Rug, $8
Amope Pedi Perfect, $49 / Clarisonic Radiance Brush Heads, $27 (but as cheap as $15 ea if you shop smart)
The one week of free-time I had in December was spent doing holiday things – baking, spending time with family and friends, the like. The rest was spent as pure downtime, regenerating and recharging along with my husband. I could have worn glitter eyeliner every damn day – but I didn’t. In fact, I hardly wore any makeup at all for half the damn month. Instead, I spent time doing self-care things.
So, in short, all of my December 2017 Favorites are along those lines.
The Haul-idays / No Buy / State of Things
Haul
Since the sale I bought C Firma during, I allowed myself to spend a little more on beauty-related products during the holidays.
In addition to the MiroPure Straightening brush, I bought:
- Another hair tool to try. There’s no universe in which I would have dropped money (>$125!) on a Beachwaver but I got the InstaWave for $25.
- A few more Gelaze colors to play with. I hadn’t purchased any gel polish in nearly a year!
- Some extra Clarisonic brush heads. There was a Cyber Monday sale – got two Radiance heads for $24. Not as excellent as my usual purchase of 4 for $64 (4 pack for $81 + 20% off).
- A new (to me, not new release) Real Techniques brush. I didn’t really have anything to use on my whole, finished face to blend any edges that I missed, and for $4 on sale I figured it was fair.
Holiday Stuff
In all, I found myself yet again underwhelmed by the holiday offerings put out by most brands. It does look like Fenty Beauty rose to the occasion (still haven’t tried anything from Fenty, though), but everything else fell flat to me. Even Urban Decay who, in spite of my occasional criticism, I generally enjoy, swung and missed (me).
The only thing I found myself tempted by were the new Heavy Metal glitter liner shades – but given that I have few opportunities to even wear the one I own (Midnight Cowboy), I refrained from adding more to my collection. Glitter eyeliner, after all, is not appropriate for work.
State of Things
Now for some general, “state of things,” updates on things I’ve talked about but not super-recently.
No Buy
Clever Ways to Use Your FSA Funds
photo from http://www.oralabs.com/blog/wear-sunscreen/
For those of you with HSA or FSA funds, December 31 marks the, “use it or lose it,” deadline. If you don’t need an eye exam or new glasses, what do you spend those funds on?
DID YOU KNOW…
…that HSA and FSA dollars can, in most cases, be spent on sunscreen?
You’ll want to verify with your plan provider, of course, but yes – this is a viable option. If you have an FSA card, you can order FSA-eligible items directly with it; Walgreens has a whole section of their site dedicated to FSA-eligible items; otherwise you will have to check for your reimbursement process.
What better way to stock up on sunscreen for 2016? Most varieties are covered – sprays, traditional lotions, sticks, what-have-you. You may not be able to convince them to cover Coola or Supergoop (but I don’t know for sure that you can’t, either), but still. Stock up for 2018!