You’ve begun your Smile Journey ™.  After wearing your aligners every day for weeks, you can already see a dramatic change in your teeth.

You’re thrilled.

A friend of yours has made great progress with their aligners, too, and they’re only wearing them at night. That sounds like something you’d like to try—having to take them out every time you eat is getting a little inconvenient. And if it’s working for your friend, why not for you, right?

Hold up! Your treatment plan is customized, specific, and extremely important to follow to the letter. The same goes for if you’re wearing Nighttime Aligners™ and want to try wearing them all day to move things along. Using your 22-hour SmileDirectClub Aligners as Nighttime Aligners or vice versa could slow your progress toward the smile of your dreams—not speed it up.

Here’s why.

Moving teeth is serious science

The science of moving teeth isn’t as simple as it might seem.

See, Nighttime Aligners and standard SmileDirectClub Aligners are different. Sure, they may look alike. But each type of aligner is a highly specialized device designed to make precise adjustments to tooth position.

Nighttime Aligners are designed to move crooked teeth into a perfect smile in 10 months¹ and require at least 10 hours per day of continuous wear at night. SmileDirectClub Aligners are designed to move teeth in 4-6 months² and require 22 hours of wear per day.

Your assigned doctor is a state-licensed dentist or orthodontist who was assigned to you to manage your specific alignment needs. They’ve used their expertise to create your treatment plan for your teeth. They’ve calculated exactly how much pressure the aligners will apply to each tooth and for how long. And the amount of time your aligner is out of your mouth is a part of the equation, too. Diverging from your treatment plan can disrupt that careful calculation.

And keep in mind, your smile is unique. The way your teeth respond to aligners may be different than other club members. There may be specific clinical concerns that the doctor had in mind when prescribing your aligners. For example, your wear schedule may be 22-hours because nighttime-only wear isn’t right for your teeth.

Simply put, Nighttime Aligners and 22-hour wear aligners are not interchangeable.

Still want a change? Ask the experts

You may have heard of people who have switched from one type of aligner to the other. It’s true that in some situations, you can make the change mid-treatment. But your teeth are unique, so there’s no way to know if it’s okay for you without consulting your SmileDirectClub doctor.

Fortunately, we make asking questions really easy. If you’re in 22-hour aligners and want to switch to Nighttime Aligners or vice versa, reach out to SmileDirectClub via phone, chat, email, or the SmileDirectClub app.

Your treating doctor may or may not be able to help you make the switch. It’s important to keep in mind that a mid-treatment change may not be possible depending on your specific circumstances. Think of all the factors that make your smile special: your age, the presence of wisdom teeth, your degree of spacing, and more. Your doctor may have prescribed your treatment plan because it is the best—or only—way to get the results you want from your aligners. But your doctor can tell you for sure and help you understand why.

And one big, important thing to know: If you go rogue and don’t follow your treatment plan without talking to SmileDirectClub first, you will void the Lifetime Smile Guarantee. That means no free, additional aligners if you get to the end of your treatment plan and still aren’t happy with your smile. And worst of all, diverting from the plan means you may not get the smile of your dreams.

So stick to the plan. Trust the teeth-aligning science behind your prescribed treatment. And talk to the doctor before making any changes. We want you to get a smile you love, and we’re here to help during every step of your Smile Journey ™.