How many hours a day should you wear aligners?
Most guidance says about 22 hours a day, which leaves about 2 hours for eating, drinking and brushing. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) says each aligner is worn at least 22 hours a day. Cleveland Clinic says 22 to 23 hours. A 2021 clinical trial describes the Invisalign® manufacturer's protocol as 20 to 22 hours a day (Al-Nadawi 2021).
That's why the tracker lets you set a goal from 20 to 22 hours. Use the number your orthodontist gave you. If you weren't given one, 22 hours matches the AAO.
| Daily wear goal | Time out you can have per day | Per meal, if you eat 3 meals and nothing else |
|---|---|---|
| 22 hours | 2 hours | 40 minutes |
| 21 hours | 3 hours | 1 hour |
| 20 hours | 4 hours | 1 hour 20 minutes |
Brushing, snacks and drinks come out of the same allowance, so the real time per meal is shorter.
When do aligners come out?
The AAO says aligners must come out when you eat or drink, and when you brush and floss. Cleveland Clinic also says to take them out to eat or drink. Every meal, snack and coffee counts toward your time out, so snacking all day uses up the allowance fast. Press Aligners out each time, even for a few minutes. Short breaks add up.
What "Keep them in until…" means
When your aligners are in, the tracker tells you the time you'll reach your goal if you leave them in from now. It's midnight, plus your goal, plus the time they've been out today.
Example: your goal is 22 hours and your aligners have been out 40 minutes so far today. Keep them in until 10:40 pm and you'll have worn them 22 hours today. After that, any time out tonight won't cost you today's goal.
When your aligners are out, it tells you the latest time to put them back in and still reach your goal today. If that time has passed, it says so plainly and shows how many hours you can still wear them today.
Over your time out today?
If your aligners have been out longer than your goal allows (2 hours for a 22-hour goal), you'll see a gentle note reminding you of your goal. It isn't a warning that something is wrong. It's a nudge to put them back in.
The AAO lists keeping aligners in for the prescribed amount of time as one of the things that helps treatment progress, and notes that treatment progress often gives orthodontists clues when treatment isn't tracking as expected. If you're often short of your goal, tell your orthodontist rather than guessing what to do. The Aligner Tray Calculator can re-plan your dates if your orthodontist changes your pace.
Streaks and charts
- Streak counts the days in a row you met your goal, up to yesterday. Today joins the streak once you've worn your aligners for your goal hours, because after that the day can't be missed.
- Best streak is your longest run since you started.
- 7-day average is the average hours worn on your last 7 full days.
- The charts show hours worn per day for the last 7 or 30 days. Blue bars met your goal and red bars missed it. Today's bar is outlined because the day isn't over. The dashed line is your goal.
How this tool works
- It logs only the time out. From your first tap, every minute counts as worn unless you logged it as out.
- Days run from midnight to midnight, in your device's time. A session that crosses midnight is split between the two days. For example, out from 11:30 pm to 12:45 am counts 30 minutes on the first day and 45 minutes on the second.
- A day meets the goal when the time out is no more than 24 hours minus your goal. On the two days a year when clocks change, the day is 23 or 25 hours long. The goal uses the same time-out allowance, and the hours worn show the real length of that day.
- Forgotten "in" taps. If a session stays open for more than 4 hours, the tracker assumes you forgot to tap and counts only 4 hours until you fix it. You can enter the real time, or tell it your aligners really are still out.
- Edits. You can change or delete any session from the last 7 days, or add one you forgot. If two sessions overlap after an edit, the overlap is counted once.
- History. Days before your first tap show as "not tracked". The tracker keeps about 400 days of sessions.
Limits: the tracker can't see your aligners. It's only as accurate as your taps. If you stop using it for a few days, those days count as fully worn, because no time out was logged.
Your log stays on this device
Every tap is saved right away in your browser's storage on this device. There's no account and nothing is sent to a server. Once the page has loaded, the tracker keeps working offline. Private browsing modes may block saving; the tracker still works until you close the tab.
Copy link shares only your daily goal, never your log. To start over, use Delete all wear data under the session list.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours a day should I wear my aligners?
Do I have to take my aligners out to drink?
What happens if I don't wear my aligners enough?
I forgot to press "Aligners in". What now?
Does the tracker work offline?
Sources
- American Association of Orthodontists. Clear Aligners. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Cleveland Clinic. Clear Aligners: Purpose & Types. updated September 23, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Al-Nadawi M, Kravitz ND, Hansa I, Makki L, Ferguson DJ, Vaid NR. Angle Orthodontist 91(2):157–163. Effect of clear aligner wear protocol on the efficacy of tooth movement: a randomized clinical trial. 2021. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- American Association of Orthodontists. What Your Orthodontist Wishes You Knew: 10 Things Patients Often Don't Realize. 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026.
Last reviewed by the Dental Health Time editorial team, against the sources above. How we review.