Short answer: Plain, cool or room-temperature water is the only drink orthodontists and aligner makers commonly say is fine with your aligners in. For coffee, tea, juice, soda, alcohol and even sparkling water, take your aligners out first, then rinse your mouth (or brush) before putting them back. Hot drinks can warp the plastic, dark drinks stain it, and sugary or acidic drinks get trapped against your teeth under the tray. Every minute the aligners are out counts against your daily wear time, so it helps to drink these quickly rather than sip them over an hour.
Can you drink water with aligners in?
Yes. Plain water is the one drink you can have at any time with your aligners in. It doesn't stain, it has no sugar or acid, and at normal temperature it won't affect the plastic. Drinking water through the day is actually useful during treatment, because it keeps your mouth moist and helps rinse away the bits of food that can collect around the trays.
Keep it plain, though. Flavoured water, water with lemon, and "zero sugar" electrolyte drinks usually contain acids or colourings, so treat them like any other drink.
Can you drink coffee with Invisalign in?
No, take your aligners out for coffee. Coffee causes three separate problems when your trays are in:
- Heat. Aligners are made from thermoplastic, which softens when it gets hot. A hot drink can distort the tray slightly, and a tray that has changed shape no longer presses on your teeth the way it was designed to.
- Staining. Coffee and tea contain pigments that discolour the plastic, and the stain pools right where the tray sits against your teeth. Your "clear" aligners stop looking clear within days.
- Sugar and acid. Milk, sugar and syrups get trapped between the tray and your teeth. Saliva normally washes these away, but the aligner blocks it, so your enamel sits in that liquid for hours.
Iced black coffee removes the heat problem but not the staining. If you drink it with your aligners in, you'll still see brown build-up quickly. The simplest habit is to take them out, drink your coffee in one go, rinse, and put them back.
Which drinks are OK with aligners in?
Here's a quick reference. "Out" means take your aligners out, drink, then rinse or brush before they go back in.
| Drink | Aligners in? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plain water (cool or room temperature) | Yes | No sugar, acid, colour or heat |
| Hot water | Out | Heat can warp the plastic |
| Sparkling water (plain) | Out | Carbonation is mildly acidic and gets trapped under the tray |
| Coffee, hot or iced | Out | Stains the tray; hot coffee can warp it; milk and sugar sit on your teeth |
| Tea, including green and herbal | Out | Stains; usually served hot |
| Milk | Out | Natural sugars trapped against your teeth |
| Juice | Out | Sugar and acid held against enamel |
| Soda, diet or regular | Out | Acidic and often sugary; colas stain |
| Sports and energy drinks | Out | Acidic and usually sugary |
| Alcohol (beer, wine, spirits, cocktails) | Out | Sugar, acid and staining, especially red wine |
Can you drink sparkling water with aligners?
It's safest to take them out. Plain sparkling water has no sugar, but carbonation makes it mildly acidic, and when that liquid is trapped under a tray for a long time it sits against your enamel. Some people also find the bubbles collect under the aligner and loosen the fit. A quick glass with the trays out, followed by a rinse, avoids both issues.
Can you drink alcohol with Invisalign?
You can drink alcohol during treatment, but not with your aligners in. Wine, beer and cocktails are acidic, most contain sugar, and red wine is one of the worst drinks for staining. Alcohol can also dry your mouth, which reduces the saliva that protects your teeth.
If you're going out for the evening, the realistic plan is:
- Take your aligners out and put them in their case, never a napkin.
- Drink water alongside your drinks.
- Rinse well, and brush if you can, before putting them back in.
- Put them back in before you go to sleep, even if you're tired. A whole night without aligners is a big chunk of lost wear time.
A long night out can easily cost you three or four hours of wear. That's the kind of day where you'd want to know your total, so you can make it up by keeping your trays in more consistently over the next few days (only within your orthodontist's plan). If it does happen, our guide on what to do if you forgot to wear your aligners covers the next steps.
Can you drink through a straw with aligners in?
A straw helps, but it doesn't make other drinks safe with your trays in. It sends the drink further back and past your front teeth, which reduces staining on those teeth. The liquid still reaches your back teeth and still seeps under the aligners, so the sugar, acid and heat problems remain. Treat a straw as a way to reduce staining when your aligners are out, not as a way to keep them in.
How does drinking affect your daily wear time?
Every drink other than water means aligners out, and that time adds up. Most treatment plans call for about 22 hours of wear a day, which leaves roughly 2 hours for all your meals, snacks, drinks and cleaning combined. See how many hours a day you should wear aligners for why that number matters.
The biggest wear-time trap is slow sipping. A latte that takes 40 minutes to finish at your desk, or a can of soda sipped through an afternoon, can quietly use up a third of your daily budget. Some ways to keep drink time small:
- Drink with meals. Your aligners are already out, so have your coffee or juice then rather than as a separate break.
- Finish in one go. Ten minutes with the trays out is far better than an hour of on-and-off sipping.
- Let hot drinks cool slightly and drink them with your meal, not afterwards.
- Carry a travel toothbrush or at least water, so you can rinse and get your trays back in straight away.
- Switch afternoon drinks to water where you can. It's the only one that doesn't cost you wear time.
If you find it hard to judge how long your trays have been out, a tracker helps. In Aligner Tracker you tap once when the aligners come out and once when they go back in, and it shows how much out-time you have left for the day. You can also set a reminder that nudges you if they've been out longer than you intended. Our guide to how long aligners can be out goes into the daily budget in more detail.
What should you do after drinking something other than water?
Rinse your mouth with water at the very least, and brush your teeth if you can, before putting your aligners back in. Rinsing clears most of the sugar and colour from the surfaces of your teeth, so less of it gets sealed under the tray. Brushing is better, especially after sugary drinks or alcohol.
After acidic drinks like soda, juice or wine, a thorough rinse is the quick option when brushing isn't practical. If you want to keep the trays themselves looking clear, our guide to cleaning aligners covers what to use and what to avoid.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drink coffee with Invisalign if it's iced?
Iced coffee won't warp your aligners, but it will still stain them and trap any milk or sugar against your teeth. Take your aligners out, drink it, rinse, and put them back in.
Can I drink water with my aligners in?
Yes. Plain water at cool or room temperature is the one drink you can have with your aligners in at any time. Flavoured or lemon water should be treated like other drinks.
Is it OK to drink sparkling water with aligners?
It's best to take them out. Carbonated water is mildly acidic, and when it's trapped under a tray it sits against your enamel for longer than it otherwise would.
Can I drink alcohol with Invisalign?
Yes, but with your aligners out. Alcohol is often acidic and sugary, and red wine stains heavily. Rinse or brush afterwards and put your aligners back in before bed.
Does drinking through a straw let me keep my aligners in?
No. A straw reduces staining on your front teeth, but the drink still gets under the aligners. Use it with your trays out, not as a reason to leave them in.
Does the time I spend drinking count toward my out-time?
Yes. Any time your aligners are out of your mouth counts against your daily wear goal, which for most people is about 22 hours. Drinking quickly, or with meals, keeps that time small.