I read a question on here that said it’s bad to switch a tray after less than 2 weeks and it can cause complications, but my dentist gave me the OK to switch every 7 days. Should I trust my dentist? Is it okay for me to do it early since I’m a teenager? The question I read was from a year ago, has something changed in the invisalign world to allow every 7 days? My dentist was having me change it every 10 days up until a week ago when they said I could change it every 7 since my gums weren’t really hurting after 7 days, and I just need to be more diligent with the chewies. So according to them I’m supposed to change trays tomorrow, but this past tray I’ve been forgetful with my chewies and one tooth is still sore so I’m going to wait until it feels normal to switch. Should I trust my dentist or go back to every 10 days? I have some time to decide yet since one tooth is still sore because of my forgetfulness, so should I switch every 7 days or is my dentist a quack?
Hello and thank you for your question.
Because Invisalign is constantly changing and improving, treatment time has been reduced in many simple cases, meaning the aligners are worn for less than two weeks.
Since you are a teenager, your jaw bone is generally much softer and more malleable than a mature adult which makes movement occur more quickly.
It seems your dentist feels that your teeth are on track with your individualized treatment set out by Invisalign, thus the reason for wearing aligners 7 days.
If you are at all concerned with one tooth in particular, my advice to you would be to phone your dentist for a quick Invisalign reassessment and to keep wearing your current tray until then.
Perhaps if you haven’t been as diligent about wearing your aligners and using your chewies, things might not be tracking as well as in the past and could impact your treatment if you change to your next aligner too soon.
It is best to err on the side of caution and see your dentist before switching to your next aligner.
I hope this helps!