Yes, you could lose weight with aligners – Here’s how!

Why do people go for clear aligner treatment? To get straighter teeth, obviously! However, achieving your smile goals isn’t the only thing that this teeth straightening method is good for: it also helps establish better habits when it comes to dental health and diet choices. So much so, that some of our users have even reported that they have finally been able to lose weight with aligners! The question is: how do invisible aligners help with weight loss? 

#1 Reduced tendency to snack

We’ve all been there: mid-afternoon at the office, and there’s that chocolate bar staring at you. Or, it’s the candy bag at the supermarket you’ve been craving for two days. Long story short, snacking is just too easy! With invisible aligners, however, taking a quick bite out of your snickers becomes a bit of a chore: you have to take them out, brush your teeth, rinse off the aligners, and put them back in. Although they’re much less work than fixed braces, which require a lot of fiddling about with interdental brushes, most of us will follow Ashley’s example and choose to avoid the hassle all together – so, there’s one way you’ll lose weight with aligners!

#2 You’ll want to protect your new smile

Your invisible aligners are a very real investment in your new smile, so you’ll want to take really good care of them both. While they are made from the highest standard materials, the aligners are designed to be worn for 22 hours a day, and not to be taken out every hour. Excessive removal puts the aligners under stress, and could potentially increase the chance of them getting damaged unnecessarily. There’s also the risk of losing or breaking them, which can delay your treatment progress. Of course, you’re protected from aligner loss of breakage thanks to our guarantees, and we’ll always make sure to get you back on track in no time. But it’s hardly worth risking it for the sake of a quick snack that you’ll regret anyway, right?

#3 Lose weight with aligners by being more aware of what you’re eating

A moment on the lips, a lifelong on the hips! Or so the saying goes. Now, when going into treatment, losing weight with aligners should definitely NOT be your top priority. That said, it would be a natural side effect because you’ll start to be more aware of what you’re eating. Most of us just eat whatever we want, whenever we feel like it. If you’ve done some research into aligner treatment, you’ll know that they should be worn for about 22 hours a day, which only gives you about 2 hours to spend on food. You’ll begin eating more mindfully, concentrating on satisfying your hunger with wholesome ingredients, rather than eating to distract or entertain yourself, which means you could lose weight with aligners without even trying!

#4 You’ll be drinking lots of water

Just like your teeth (and white shirts), any staining food or drink will also stain your aligners. For this reason, we very strongly recommended that the only liquid you drink whilst wearing your aligners is water. Additionally, your saliva, which usually helps to rinse your teeth throughout the day, has a harder time reaching your teeth underneath the aligners, making you more susceptible to tooth decay and staining if you’re drinking beverages full of sugar or tannins. If that’s not convincing enough, water is a wonderful aid to weight loss with aligners: it’s 100% free of calories and helps you feel fuller, meaning you’ll eat less in general. Did you know that many people who crave sugar throughout the day are actually just dehydrated? Drinking water can even increase your metabolism – scientific research has found that drinking six cups of cold water every day can help you burn an extra 50 calories. If we had to choose a health elixir, it would be water!

#5 Lose weight with aligners thanks to your new, confident smile

When you’re feeling less confident, it’s very easy to fall into bad habits like eating comfort foods, exercising less, and putting the minimum amount of effort into things. Once established, these habits are hard to shake off. However, when you start making changes in your life, others will follow. Here, the concept “Anything you do for 21 days becomes a habit” comes to mind. Well, once you’ve made the commitment to wearing aligners and getting the smile of your dreams, you will have made a positive change to your daily habits! After brushing your teeth more often, caring more about your smile and eating mindfully, you’ll be much more motivated to make further changes in your life, which will also help you to lose weight with aligners. These changes could include spending more time outdoors or, like Suzanne, joining a new gym! The more confident you become about how you look, the more effort you’ll want to make to improve – a win-win situation 😉

As you can see, there are plenty of ways that you might lose weight with invisible aligners. Obviously, it’s only a welcome side effect among many others that lead to a happier, healthier lifestyle, and weight loss shouldn’t be your top priority when deciding to start your treatment. 

Wondering how invisible aligners might positively impact your own daily life over 5-9 months? Get your free e-consultation today and find out if you’re suitable!