Invisalign Final Retainer - Bad for my Teeth to Only Wear It at Night?

When treatment ends, the bone supporting teeth is still fairly soft.  If a retainer is worn 24/7 at first, the bone can get dense and allow the teeth to settle.  At that point night time only wear works.

It's not that it's bad for your teeth, it is the minimum needed. You need full time wear long enough for your teeth to stabilize in their new position. Eventually you should be able to where then just to bed. Trust how they feel. If they feel tight you need more wear. If your teeth feel like they move you need more wear. Your body and your retainer are better telling factors in terms of if you need more wear or if bedtime alone is enough, than a rule of thumb a doctor with tell every patient.

In my office when I complete an invisalign case I usually recommend that my patients where the retainers as often as possible to allow the teeth to settle.  After the first few months night time only wearing is required for as long as you do not want the teeth to move back to where they once were. 

After Invisalign, a retainer must be worn, at least at night, for as long as you don't want teeth to move, which is probably the rest of your life.  Whereing a retainer the same as aligners to let the bone harden around the teeth is a good idea.  The teeth may need to be occlusally adjusted as the way they originally fit together and the way they were worn is different then the way they now come together post Invisalign.  Talk to your provider and have him check your bite.  Good luck! 

It is very important to wear your retainers each and every night.  There will be forever a tendency for your teeth to relapse back to where they were before invisalign.  Physiologically, teeth tend to move throughout your lifetime.  It is important to have the retainers maintained and checked regularly.  Depending on the type of retainer they may need to be replaced every so often.  Retainers wear out and when they wear out they no longer hold your teeth properly.