Even the most dedicated of SmileDirectClub members can get off track with their aligners. 

You know your treatment plan. You know when you’re supposed to snap in those aligners. You know they’re the path to the grin you’ve dreamed about. 

But life happened, and you haven’t worn them for a few days. Maybe you haven’t worn them for a week or more. 

You’re off the program. Now what? 

First off, contact us as soon as possible. Our dental team will connect with your doctor to get you back on track. 

“We can make sure that you are told exactly what you need to do to get back on track with your smile journey,” says Dr. Jeffery Sulitzer, SmileDirectClub’s Chief Clinical Officer. “Following your doctor’s prescription, will always get you the best results.” 

In the meantime, here’s some general advice from Dr. Sulitzer that you can follow until you’re able to reach us. These tips can help you get back on plan with your aligners if you find yourself in one of these situations. 

I didn’t wear my aligner for the prescribed hours

If you didn’t wear your SmileDirectClub aligners for the full 22 hours each day during the period for which they were prescribed, you can usually wear the aligners for an extra day or even a couple of days before switching to the next set of aligners. This makes up for the missed time and will ensure that your planned tooth movements will occur and that your teeth are ready for the next aligner.  If that doesn’t work for you or you have concerns, contact us and we will follow up with your doctor as needed.

If you aren’t wearing your Nightime Aligners™ continuously for the full 10 hours each evening, try putting them in earlier, before you go to bed while you’re still up streaming Netflix. Or keep them on a few hours after you get up in the morning to ensure you’re wearing them for the full 10 hour requirement. 

The key is to make up for those missed hours. If you regularly cut short your aligner-wearing time, your smile journey will not end up where you had planned. 

I forgot my aligner at home when I went on vacation 

If you forget your aligners and don’t use them for a week, you’ll need to go back to the aligner that fits best and start from there. That could be the previous week’s aligners or the one before that. 

Keeping your previous sets of aligners comes in handy for situations just like this so be sure to keep them around as a backup, even when you’re done with them. 

Arggghhh! I accidentally threw my aligner away! 

It happens. Put in your old aligner for now and give us a call, so we can advise you on the next steps. You can buy a replacement aligner, of course, or you may be able to just move forward to the next set. But call us to find out what your doctor wants you to do. 

To help you keep track of your aligners, we recommend you buy our Tile™ case for them. Tile™ technology uses an app on your smartphone to locate your aligner case if you’ve misplaced it. Once you activate the Tile app, your aligner case will make a sound to help you find it, as long as the case is within 100 feet of your phone. 

So if you accidentally knocked your Tile™ case in the bathroom trash can, it will make a noise to let you know it’s there with your aligners under that empty shampoo bottle and that worn out pony tail holder. Tile™ cases are a must for keeping tabs on your aligners. 

I’m sick and I can’t wear my aligners 

You can wear your aligners when you’re sick. The one exception might be if you’re nauseated and vomiting. In that case, leave your aligners out of your mouth until your stomach settles down. 

If it takes you a few days to get well and your current aligners no longer fit because your teeth moved while you were ill, go back and wear your previous set of aligners. 

If you are wearing your aligners during an illness, be sure to clean them thoroughly to remove any bacteria, germs or odors that may linger before returning them to your mouth. 

Give us a call 

In any of these situations, be sure to reach out to us so we can advise you on the best course of action. And don’t forget to register your aligners either in your portal or  through the app (for US customers) so you can receive reminders on when to change your aligners and stay on track with your treatment.