5 Holiday Survival Tips Dentists Can Share With Clear Aligner Patients

Dec 16

Holiday festivities often lead to non-compliance and lost trays for clear aligner patients. A few proactive conversations now can prevent treatment delays and refinements in the New Year.

The holiday season is the busiest time of year for your practice and your patients. Between travel, office parties, and constant snacking, daily routines fall apart. Unfortunately, this often means holiday compliance drops significantly.

Patients don’t intend to derail their progress. They simply get distracted.

Here how you can help them enjoy their break without compromising their smile journey.

1. Master the Art of Meal Consolidation

Holiday gatherings usually involve “grazing”, meaning constant snacking over several hours. This is a nightmare for aligner wear time. Patients often take trays out for an appetizer, forget them for an hour, put them back in, and repeat.

Advise your patients to consolidate their eating windows. Instead of snacking continuously, they should fill a plate, sit down, and enjoy a full meal.

Tell your patients:

Avoid taking aligners out for every single cookie or drink.

Eat your fill during set meal times.

Clean your teeth and pop the trays back in immediately.

Drink only water while the aligners are in.

2. The “No Napkin” Rule During Travel

This is the number one cause of lost appliances. Patients traveling or dining out often wrap their aligners in a napkin while eating. In the chaos of a holiday dinner, that napkin almost always ends up in the trash.

Emphasize that cases are mandatory, not optional.

Tell your patients:

“Case or Face”: The aligners are either in your mouth or in their case.

Never place aligners in a napkin, pocket, or on a loose tray.

Pack an extra case specifically for holiday events.

3. Guarding Wear Time During Late Nights

Holiday schedules are erratic. Patients stay up late, sleep in, and lose track of time. It is easy for the standard 22-hour wear time to slip to 16 hours or less.

When wear time drops, teeth don’t track. This leads to tight trays and discomfort when the patient tries to catch up.

Tell your patients:

Set a recurring timer on your phone for meals.

If you are at a long event, use the timer to remind you to re-insert trays.

Do not switch to a new tray right before a big event if your teeth feel sore; wait until the routine is stable.

4. Realistic Hygiene Hacks for Parties

Ideally, patients brush and floss after every meal. Realistically, they won’t do this in a crowded airport bathroom or at a formal holiday gala.

Perfection is the enemy of progress here. If patients think they must brush perfectly before re-inserting, they might leave trays out for hours until they get home.

Tell your patients:

Carry a “mini-kit” with floss picks and a travel brush.

If you can’t brush, swish aggressively with water to dislodge food.

Put the aligners back in to keep the teeth moving.

Brush thoroughly as soon as you get home or back to the hotel.

5. Establish a Clear Emergency Protocol

Offices are often closed for days at a time during the holidays. Patients panic when they lose a tray or break an attachment while visiting family out of state.

Anxiety leads to bad decisions, like stopping treatment entirely until you return. Give them a flowchart for what to do if things go wrong.

Tell your patients:

Lost tray: Try the next tray up. If it fits, wear it. If not, wear the previous tray to hold your position.

Broken attachment: Keep wearing the aligner. It will still provide some movement or retention.

Rough edge: Use a clean nail file to smooth the plastic so it doesn’t irritate your tongue.

Call the office and leave a voicemail so we can schedule you first thing in January.

The Dentist’s Takeaway

Holiday compliance isn’t about being perfect; it is about damage control. By sharing this advice now, you help your clear aligner patients manage their own treatment responsibly. A five-minute chat today saves you from ordering refinements next month.

What to say as they leave the chair:

“Enjoy your holiday food and travel! Just remember: keep a case in your pocket, rinse with water if you can’t brush, and keep those trays in as much as possible. We want to see that progress continue in January.”

Download Our Free Patient Handout!

Want to make sure your patients remember these tips?
We’ve created a printable "Holiday Aligner Survival Guide" you can share with your patients.
Download it to print for your front desk or attach to your holiday email blasts.

Jana Jovanovska