The short answer is no, it is not sufficient to wear Invisalign® aligners only at night. The success of aligning your teeth using clear aligners depends largely on how long you wear them. While they are worn, the teeth are moved into the correct position. The rest of the time, however, the teeth shift back. The aligners must therefore be worn as much as possible. The longer the daily wearing time, the faster and more accurately the teeth are aligned.
If you only wear the aligners at night, the dental correction will not occur at all or will be incomplete. The aligner will then no longer fit optimally on the arch and may exert undesirable pressure, resulting in uncontrolled tooth movements.
The rocking syndrome
During orthodontic treatment, the force exerted on the teeth must be regular and continuous. When Invisalign aligners are worn only at night, the force will alternate in two opposite directions (i.e., bucco-lingual or mesial-distal) depending on whether you are wearing the appliance or not.
This results in a rocking of the teeth that is completely different from the movement expected in orthodontic treatment. The functional (unconstrained) mobility of the teeth becomes greater and uncontrolled. In other words, your teeth will “rock” slightly. You can observe this phenomenon by gently pressing on your teeth after removing the aligners.
A good orthodontist in Geneva for optimal treatment success
One of the risks associated with this rocking phenomenon is root resorption (which can also occur outside of any orthodontic treatment).
This is a pathological inflammatory process that leads to irreversible loss of tooth structure (cementum, dentin, and bone), which can affect the long-term prognosis and stability of the dental system. A good orthodontist knows the risk factors for this inflammation of the root. They carefully plan and implement your treatment plan; however, it will only be successful if the patient follows the therapeutic recommendations by wearing the aligners at least 20 hours per day.
Wearing time is therefore of great importance, especially for more complex corrections of misaligned teeth. While the negative effects of slightly reduced wearing time of Invisalign® aligners may not be immediately noticeable in the case of very minor corrections, the success of more extensive treatments is unfortunately compromised.
Experience has shown that wearing time of less than 20 hours does not produce satisfactory results for significant corrections. If this occurs, the aligners must be worn for a few additional days before the next change, until optimal fit is achieved and no pressure is felt.
Dr. Daniil Klimovich
General dentist. Dental Geneva, Geneva city center.
Orthodontic alignment process with Invisalign®
Fundamentally, Invisalign® aligners must be worn 24 hours a day, except for eating and brushing teeth. Compromises on wearing time directly influence the progression of successful dental/jaw correction. The orthodontist will provide you with a personalized wearing time, treatment duration, and aligner replacement interval.
Learn more about invisible orthodontics with Invisalign®
At Dental Geneva, we pay particular attention to the concept of holistic treatment and, together with our patients, we ensure an effective yet gentle treatment process.
