Can I drink sparkling water with clear aligners?

No — Spark’s patient instructions say you should remove active aligners for any drink other than water, so you should not drink sparkling water while wearing Spark aligners. [1]

Quick takeaways

• Spark instructs patients to remove aligners for any beverage except plain water.
• Laboratory studies show carbonated and other beverages can change color or material properties of thermoplastic aligner samples under immersion.
• No clinical studies directly measure the effect of brief sparkling‑water sipping while wearing active aligners. [1, 2]

What Spark’s guidance says

Spark’s official patient-care instructions explicitly tell users to remove active aligners for drinks other than water. That patient-directed guidance applies to Spark active aligners during treatment and is the primary practical recommendation for Spark users. [1]

What laboratory tests show about beverages and aligner materials

In‑vitro laboratory studies that immersed thermoplastic aligner or retainer samples in beverages found measurable colour changes and some changes in mechanical properties after exposure to a tested carbonated drink and other beverages. [2]

Other laboratory comparisons found pigmented beverages such as coffee, tea and red wine caused more and faster staining than cola-type or clear beverages, and the amount of staining depended on the specific polymer tested. [2, 3]

These are laboratory (in‑vitro) exposures and do not replicate brief, intermittent sipping inside the mouth or measure real‑world clinical outcomes like visible staining during treatment or changes in fit or treatment progress. [2, 3]

Practical takeaways for patients

Because Spark explicitly tells patients to remove aligners for any drink other than water, follow that instruction for sparkling water while wearing Spark active aligners; laboratory findings about material staining provide supporting context but do not override the manufacturer’s patient guidance. [1, 2]

How Smilo can help you follow wear-time rules

If you find remembering to remove aligners for drinks (and tracking total out‑of‑mouth time) tricky, Smilo’s wear-time tracking feature helps you log daily wear hours, record tray changes and keep a consistent routine so you stay within your prescribed wear target.