Should i apply the gel inside my invisalign retainers instead of buying a mouthguard just for teeth whitening?

Sure if....: The whitening gel was supplied by your dentist. I always have my patients whiten their teeth while using invisalign. Their vivera retainers fit well and results are great. Your dentist can dispense the correct strength of whitener (depending upon when you will bleach -- ie. Daytime or overnight). They will also explain the exact placement and removal procedure of the whitening solution.

No: Not recommended. The material used for invisalign retainers is different from the whitening tray material and must stay intact. You should not subject it to the chemicals of whitening solutions. Better to wait until completed and then ask the orthodontist to make a whitening tray from the final casts. You can whiten in just 2 weeks. Otherwise, you will be needing many trays as your teeth move.

You could: The retainers fit tightly so place very little bleach inside to the bleach from extruding in your mouth.

Yes, you can.: Although, if you have attachments (buttons) bonded onto your teeth the whitening gel will not get underneath the attachments and may leave you with some discrepancies in color once the attachments are removed. If that were to happen you would then need to whiten those specific areas in order to even out the whitening results, not always predictable. If you have buttons, better to wait until done.

Absolutely!: One of the wonderful features of invisalign treatment is that you can use the aligners as the delivery tray for whitening. Doing the whitening this way saves time and, since you do it in the aligner, you keep the aligners in your mouth so they continue to straighten your teeth!

Whiten + Invisalign: You could use the trays for whitening as long as you don't have tabs on your teeth. These composite tabs would block the gel from getting to the teeth and potentially cause small discolored areas that didn't bleach. The bleach material might affect the integrity of the trays, but if you only do it for a few hours a night for a few days, it should be ok.

During the 2nd week: I usually recommend that during the second week of invisalign tray wear you can use bleach. The first week, when the teeth are moving more, you could be more sensitive.

You can but: Aligntech seminars do recommend certain patients use whitening products in the aligners as a anti-microbial treatment, and as an added bonus, the teeth will be whiter, but be careful and ask your dentist on the amount, how to and where to load inside the aligner and how long, (don't want to burn your gums or cause major sensitivity).

White out: Some orthodontic specialists may incorporate bleaching with their clear aligner treatments and others may not. If the bleaching material cannot be completely brushed and rinsed out of the aligner tray, they might not be as crystal clear as they once were. Please ask your orthodontist for their recommendation.

Yes: It works great. My patients do it all the time with great results.