You recently received clear aligners to straighten your smile. Your dentist explained that 22 hours of Invisalign wear time each day is necessary if you want to avoid any delays in treatment. But if you’re supposed to take out your trays each time you eat and drink, how can you possibly wear your braces for the full amount of time? Read on to discover what a dentist has to say and how following these three tips will help keep your smile on the right track.
Why 22 Hours is the Ideal Timeframe
Your teeth need all the time they can get to shift into the appropriate place. This process doesn’t happen overnight. Because you chose Invisalign as opposed to traditional orthodontics, these clear aligners are gentler when applying pressure. This allows for a more comfortable approach to treatment. Each time you swap out your current sets for new ones, your teeth become just a little bit straighter. However, this is only possible if you agree to wear your trays for 20-22 hours each day.
Potential Complications That Can Arise
While many patients complain of discomfort and choose to not wear their trays because of the discomfort, which should only be mild, the results can be problematic. Apart from a serious delay in treatment, it is possible you could face greater discomfort.
Yes, the initial placement of your trays will cause some slight discomfort, but you can typically remedy this problem by taking an over-the-counter pain reliever. The same can be said each time you switch to a new set in the series. If you cannot handle the pressure of your moving teeth and choose to take out your trays instead of wearing them, you will experience much more discomfort when you do decide to reinsert them.
Instead of dealing with a few days of slight pain, you can experience longer bouts of soreness should you choose to avoid wearing your aligners.
Tips to Wearing Your Invisalign for 22 Hours
Because it may feel as if wearing your trays 20-22 hours a day is impossible, your dentist is here to provide some Invisalign tips to help you through the process:
- Before going to bed, swap out your current trays for a new set. This will allow the soreness and discomfort to occur throughout the night. With the help of an OTC pain reliever, you can minimize the potential tenderness you would normally feel if you weren’t asleep.
- Expect mild discomfort when wearing aligners and keep appropriate medications on hand to help you better handle it.
- If your aligners become damaged, do not attempt to repair them on your own. Instead, contact your dentist’s office for help.
- If you lose your aligners, contact your dentist right away to learn about the proper next steps.
Don’t let your investment in a straighter smile become unraveled because you don’t want to wear your aligners. Commit to the process and watch your smile become healthy and beautiful before your eyes.
About the Practice
At Advanced Dentistry of Alhambra, we want you to embrace a straighter, healthier, more beautiful smile. If your teeth are crooked, misaligned, gapped, or overcrowded, let us provide Invisalign clear aligners as an alternative to traditional metal braces. With this type of treatment, you can expect long-lasting results, but you must be committed to wearing the trays 20-22 hours a day. Contact us at (682) 289-6131 to find out more about this unique solution.