Is It Reasonable to Say Invisalign Are Worn All Day, Except for Eating and Brushing?

Yes, it is correct to say that Invisalign must be worn nearly all the time except for when eating and then brushing and flossing your teeth.  We recommend at least 22 hours per day.  If the aligners are only worn 15 hours per day, as you asked, then there will definitely be problems.  There will not be enough active time in the day for the aligners to work.  There will be problems with the teeth tracking (fitting in the aligners), and the teeth will not get as straight as planned.  There could actually be a point when the aligners do not even fit on the teeth.  

Not only is it reasonable it is critical. You will absolutely compromise your result by getting any less wear. It is a lot of money to to throw away. If your life style or personality doesnt allow you to commit to 20-22 hours everyday of wear DON'T DO INVISALIGN.

Yes your results will be affected by wearing your aligners only 15 hours per day.  Will it be unacceptable to you?  Each person is unique, so there is no way to "guess"  Why take a chance?  It's not much more effort to wear them the way the science research & computer designed them.  Invisalign works only when you are wearing them.  You went through so much already, impressions, x-rays, models, pictures, fees, why give less than your best?  Good Luck, hope you get a fantastic result!

When you are undergoing invisalign treatment you should be wearing the trays 20-22 hours a day to see the best results.  If you wear them less treatment results may not be ideal.  If you are wearing them less you may have to wear the aligners longer before changing them.

It is best to wear invisalign for about 20-22 hours a day for the best results and to stay on track with the aligners. If there is a time when you are not good about wearing them or wish to wear them 15 hours a day, then I would speak with your doctor about slowing down the frequency in which you switch the aligners.

Best,

Dr. Gabriela Hricko

Your invisalign trays must be worn for at least 22 hours/day.  If you don't you will compromise the result.  The invisalign trays place a calculated amount of force/ stress along the entire tooth and tooth root.  Altering the amount of forces constantly around a tooth will not only compromise your final invisalign result, but may also damage the attachment of your tooth- root to the jaw bone.  I hope this helps.

The research and design has shown the aligners to work as directed, 20-22 hours per day.  Any deviation from protocol may give unpredictable results.  Can it work with 15 hours per day?  Maybe.  Will it be stable and last?  Don't know.

But with an investment like that for Invisalign, it would make sense to get the best ROI possible.