22/7: How to Wear Your Invisalign Aligners for the Required Time

When you started Invisalign treatment, you agreed to a few conditions. Mainly, you agreed to wear your aligners for 20 to 22 hours every day. But now that you have them, you may find it more challenging to meet this requirement than you thought it would be.

Keep reading to learn why you should stick to this obligation and how to make it easier to meet your 22-hour requirement.

Why Do You Need to Wear Your Invisalign Aligners for 22 Hours Every Day?

With traditional braces, you don’t have to think about wearing your brackets and wires because they are bonded to your teeth all the time. Invisalign clear aligners only work when they are physically touching your teeth, which means you must consciously choose to wear them for most of the day—with breaks only for eating and oral hygiene. If you spend significant amounts of time without your aligners in, your teeth won’t progress as planned, putting you behind on reaching your goal.

How Can You Make Sure You Meet the Required Time?

When you put your mind to it and follow these tips, it’s not tricky to keep your aligners in for 20 to 22 hours every day.

Time Your Meals and Snacks

Although you don’t have to rush or stick to a strict schedule, lollygagging while you eat and snacking frequently only consumes your available aligner-free time. If you limit your snacking to 15 minutes and mealtimes to around 30 minutes, you can easily reach your required wearing time. Setting a timer is an option to help you stay on schedule.

If you need help keeping track of how long you’ve had your aligners out, you can take advantage of the Tray Minder app as well.

Soak and Clean While You Eat

When time is limited, why not accomplish two things at once? While your aligners are out for a meal, you can soak them in a glass with your cleaning crystals, essentially cleaning them while you eat. This will help you save time and enable you to have the aligners in for longer every day.

Switch to Your New Set Before Bed

Advancing to the next set of aligners comes with some unpleasant sensations. The soreness can make you want to take out your aligners for relief. Unfortunately, you need to endure this slightly discomfort for your teeth to move, which is why you should make the transition right before bed. As you sleep, your mouth can start to become used to the feeling of the new aligners, reducing the risk of your taking them out for unnecessary reasons.

Before you know it, you will likely find a groove and easily meet the required time every day. Within a short time, you’ll be done with treatment altogether, and your time commitment and investment will be rewarded with a perfectly straight, beautiful smile!

About the Practice

Applegate Dental is proud to offer Invisalign treatment. Our three dentists have years of experience and training in advanced procedures and can help you achieve your ideal smile. In our practice, we see patients of all ages and can use Invisalign on adults and teens. If you have questions about Invisalign or are interested in learning more, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation online or call our West Seneca office at 716-712-5301.