Do dentists recommend using an ultrasonic cleaner for my aligners, such as Invisalign®? (2026) - Dr. Emma Laing
Dr. Emma Laing: Video Summary
Dr. Emma Laing: The Dental Pod offers a convenient and easy way to clean aligners as part of a regular care routine. It’s quick and simple to use, and I recommend using it regularly to help maintain your aligners, and later your retainer once your treatment has concluded.
Click here to order your Dental Pod and support your aligner cleaning routine at home.
Dr. Laing, what experience do you have with aligners?
I am an experienced Orthodontic Specialist and have been using aligner treatments since 2008 as well as more conventional brace treatments. I have been working as a Specialist in Harley Street, London for 14 years.
I have treated thousands of patients with regular braces or aligners (such as Invisalign) followed by retainers to hold the result.
I recently won the Interdisciplinary Team Orthodontic-Surgical Prize at the 2021 Aesthetic Dentistry Awards and am now a Judge for the Clinical Dentistry Awards.
Click here to check out my website!
Do I really need to clean my aligners?
Even though you may receive new aligners every 1-2 weeks, the aligners still require regular cleaning. Most of my patients like to clean their aligners when they wake in the morning with a dry mouth and the aligners feel unclean.
Just like the reasons we need to brush our teeth twice a day, plaque, tartar and other forms of buildup can accumulate on your aligners quickly.
A study using microscopes to look at aligners found that noticeable buildup can begin to form after a short period of use.
If you choose not to clean your aligners regularly, they can get very smelly and dirty making them really unpleasant for you to wear.
I’d also strongly recommend continuing to use your ultrasonic cleaner if you use a retainer at the end of your aligner treatment, as part of maintaining your appliance and supporting its condition over time.
What is an ultrasonic aligner cleaner?
An ultrasonic cleaner is a vibrating water bath.
The Dental pod is an ultrasonic aligner cleaner.
The Dental Pod uses high-frequency 42,000 Hz ultrasonic waves to vibrate a cleaning solution and produce millions of nano-scale bubbles.
The vibrations and microbubbles act on the surface of your aligners to help dislodge debris and buildup, including in areas that may be harder to reach with manual cleaning.
Is an ultrasonic aligner cleaner necessary?
A study using microscopes to look at clear plastic aligners found that traditional cleaning methods, such as rinsing with water and soaking in a solution, may remove less visible buildup compared to ultrasonic cleaning used alongside a tablet.
Debris and buildup can collect in the rough surfaces of your aligners, which can be difficult to clean with traditional methods.
The Dental pod is designed to help clean areas that may be harder to reach with manual cleaning approaches.
Do ultrasonic aligner cleaners actually work?
The British Dental Journal stated that the Dental pod is a convenient way to deep clean oral appliances.
GQ included the Dental pod in their article ‘How to do Invisalign right’.
Research has explored ultrasonic cleaning as an alternative approach to traditional methods such as rinsing with water and soaking in a solution.
Ultrasonic and chemical cleaning are different approaches, and many users choose to combine them as part of their routine.
That is why I suggest using Ultrasonic Boosting Tablets with the Dental Pod to support the cleaning process.
Is it safe to clean my aligners with an ultrasonic cleaner?
The continued use of an ultrasonic cleaner can be incorporated as part of a regular aligner care routine.
Ultrasonic cleaning does not rely on direct scrubbing and has been widely used within clinical dental and medical settings for many years.
Aligners can be damaged by excessive heat.
This is why it is important to purchase an ultrasonic cleaner that is specifically designed for oral appliances like the Dental pod, as other models can generate heat which can damage dental plastics.
How do ultrasonic cleaners clean my aligners?
Ultrasonic cleaners generate high-frequency vibrations. Vibrations clean your aligners in two ways:
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The liquid is forced against the surface of your aligners during vibration, helping to dislodge debris and buildup from the appliance.
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Tiny bubbles formed by the vibration of the cleaner rapidly expand and collapse, releasing energy that helps dislodge debris, buildup and residue from the surface of your aligners without the need for abrasive scrubbing.
In the Dental pod, this process (called ‘cavitation’) occurs thousands of times per second, acting across the surface of the aligner, including in smaller gaps and contours, within a short cleaning cycle.
The combination of these cleaning techniques allows the Dental pod to act on areas that may be harder to reach with manual cleaning methods.
Is it easy to clean my aligners with an ultrasonic cleaner?
There are only 4 simple steps to clean your aligners with an ultrasonic cleaner:
- Fill the Dental Pod with water and add an Ultrasonic Boosting Tablet
Fill the Dental pod with room temperature water and plug it into a wall socket.
Drop in a tablet to increase the cleaning effect.
- Place your aligners in the water
Drop your aligners into the water in the Dental pod.
Your aligners must be fully submerged in the liquid to receive the full effects of ultrasonic cleaning.
- Turn on the Dental pod
Put the lid on the Dental pod, turn the machine on and let it run for 5 minutes.
Studies have shown that 5 minutes is the perfect amount of time to leave oral appliances in ultrasonic cleaners.
- Retrieve your clean aligners from the Dental pod
Your aligners will now feel clean and refreshed after each cycle.
I hope that you’re now more confident about taking care of your aligners. If you need more advice, please don’t hesitate to contact Zima Dental customer support at support@zimadental.co.uk
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