How many hours a day do I really need to wear my aligners?

Twenty-two hours can sound like a lot, but for most people it becomes part of their normal routine pretty quickly. Where people can come unstuck is taking them out for breakfast and leaving them out for an hour, doing the same again at lunch, and then having them out for a few hours over dinner. Those little bits of time add up surprisingly quickly.

So why does it matter?

Each aligner is designed to make a small movement to your teeth. It can only do that while you're wearing it. If your aligners are regularly out for longer than planned, your teeth may not move as expected and the next aligner may not fit as well as it should.

This doesn't mean you need to panic if you have a long lunch or forget to put them back in straight away one day. Real life happens. It's what you do most of the time that matters.

One thing I don't recommend is trying to make up for poor wear by moving on to your next aligner anyway. If an aligner isn't fitting properly or you haven't managed to wear it as much as you should have, you may need to wear it for longer before changing to the next one.

A good habit is to put your aligners back in as soon as you've finished eating and cleaned your teeth, rather than leaving them sitting on the bench while you get distracted by something else.

And please put them in their case when they're out. We've heard plenty of stories about aligners wrapped in a serviette disappearing into the rubbish, or being eaten by the family dog!

There's another reason to use the case too. Once you've worn aligners for a while, you get very used to them and probably don't think twice about seeing them sitting on the table. People who don't wear aligners may feel a little differently about seeing something that's just come out of your mouth sitting next to their lunch!

If you're having trouble getting enough wear time, tell us. It's much better for us to know than for you to keep moving through your aligners when your teeth aren't quite ready.