Living With Clear Aligners: Wear Time, Eating and Cleaning

Most of what you want to know before starting aligner treatment is about ordinary days: when the trays are in, when they come out, where they go in between, and what happens once treatment ends. If you are still working out what clear aligners are and how they work, start there. What follows covers the day-to-day.

Wear time and tray changes

With clear aligner systems, you wear each set of aligner trays for approximately two weeks, then swap those trays out for the next set in the series. Unlike metal braces, clear aligners are removable, but you have to wear them for at least 22 hours every day (Cleveland Clinic).

Those figures are a general description of how these systems work, not instructions from any particular dentist.

When the trays come out

You should only take your aligners out to eat, drink and brush your teeth (Cleveland Clinic). Eating and drinking, then, are pauses in wear time rather than extras alongside it, and that is worth picturing against your own day before you start.

Cleaning and storing them

The care advice is short: if you have clear aligners, clean them every day and store them properly when you're not wearing them (Cleveland Clinic). If you don't clean thoroughly around your orthodontic appliances, you also have a greater risk of cavities (Cleveland Clinic).

Regular dental visits

Visit your dentist regularly for cleanings and routine dental care (Cleveland Clinic). See also our routine checkups and cleanings page.

The retainer, once treatment ends

If you wear braces or clear aligners, you'll need a retainer once your orthodontic treatment ends (American Association of Orthodontists). A retainer prevents your teeth from shifting back into their old positions (Cleveland Clinic).

If you stop wearing your retainer, your teeth could drift back into their old positions over time (Cleveland Clinic).

Next step

Our office is at 147 Main St, 2nd Floor, Lodi, NJ 07644, and Dr. Steven Liao is our dentist. To start as a new patient, see our first-visit page; our Invisalign page is also on this site.

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic. "Teeth Braces." Updated 2023-01-13. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24601-teeth-braces
• Cleveland Clinic. "Orthodontics." Updated 2022-10-12. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24285-orthodontics
• American Association of Orthodontists. "Understanding Retainers: The Key to Maintaining Your Smile." https://aaoinfo.org/treatments/retainers/