Making Sure That You Meet Your Invisalign Wear Time

When you begin the process of straightening your smile with Invisalign, you will be told that you need to wear your aligners for at least 20 to 22 hours each day. You need to make a point of meeting this requirement if you want to keep your treatment on track. It may seem like a tall order, but fortunately, your dentist is here with some helpful tips for ensuring that you’re wearing your aligners enough.

Why Does Invisalign Wear Time Matter?

The Invisalign process relies on a series of clear aligners that are designed to put slight pressure on your teeth in order to guide them closer to their intended positions. You are meant to wear each aligner for a set amount of time (usually about two weeks) before moving on to the next one.

However, the aligners can only do their job while they’re actually touching the teeth. Thus, for the treatment to work, you need to keep your aligners in your mouth for most of the day. If you don’t, the process may end up taking much longer than necessary.

How Can You Make Sure That You’re Wearing Invisalign Enough?

In order to make sure that you’re wearing your Invisalign aligners for as long as you need to, you can follow these steps:

• Be mindful of exactly how long you take your aligners out for meals. Ideally, you should remove them for about 15 minutes during breakfast, 30 minutes during lunch, and 60 minutes during dinner. This should leave you with enough time for brushing your teeth and enjoying the odd snack.
• Consider downloading the TrayMinder app. It’s a useful tool for monitoring your Invisalign wear time during the day.
• Make the most of the time that the aligners are out of your mouth. While you’re eating dinner, you can soak the aligners in cleaning crystals. That way, you don’t have to set aside additional time to clean them later.
• When it’s time to switch to a new set of aligners, make the change right before you go to bed. This is because your new aligners may cause discomfort at first, which can tempt you to take them out. By putting them in before going to sleep, you can reduce your discomfort.

Thanks to the tips listed above, meeting the required Invisalign wear time can be easier than you think. Remember that you can always talk to your dentist if you have questions or concerns about the Invisalign process.

About the Practice

At Dentex Dental of Philadelphia, we want to go beyond the expectations of our patients, providing each of them with the personalized care that they deserve using the latest state-of-the-art dental instruments. We’re proud to be able to offer Invisalign as a way to correct crooked teeth and other alignment issues. To schedule a consultation at our office, visit our website or call (215) 677-3904.