Will Invisalign interfere with playing sports?

[Ainsley]

Hi

I play hockey some weekends and I wear a sportsguard when I play hockey. I have been thinking about getting my teeth straightened with Invisalign and wonder if playing hockey would interfere with my Invisalign treatment.

Would the recommendation be to wear the sportsguard when I am playing sports and go back to the Invisalign clear braces afterwards? Wearing a sportsguard for a couple of hours is not to affect the Invisalign treatment?

[Dr Ehsan J. Esfahani]

Dear Ainsley,

Thank you for your post.

One of the major advantages of the Invisalign system is that the appliance also knows as the aligner is removable. This is a big advantage for patients who are actively involved in sport as they have the ability to remove their aligner. This is not the case with conventional braces as they are fixed.

For sports with a high chance of facial impact a sportsguard (mouthguard) should be worn. I would recommend wearing your mouthguard instead of the invisalign aligner when you play hockey. When you have finished playing, the aligner should be worn straight after again, as the recommended wear time is around 22hours/day.

Wearing a mouthguard for a couple of hours once a week will not affect the invisalign treatment. Now despite the fact your aligners are removable, you should not really be removing them very often if you want them to work effectively.

Hope this helps and enjoy the hockey.