Is there an advantage to wear IA for more than 20hrs?

[SuEdi]

Hi
I got an Inman Aligner yesterday to straighten 2 front teeth after years and years wanting to align my crooked teeth! I have a few questions on this, i hope someone can help:
-If you wear for longer than 20hrs does it speed up the process more or is it pre-programmed to work at 20hrs and any more is a waste? I am trying to do 23 hrs but I wont if it makes no difference!
-I have an enamel ‘button’ put on my tooth to keep the aligner on the bottom of my teeth, I have brushed my teeth 4 times already today and its only 3pm (!) and think I might have brushed a bit off and the Aligner may have moved a mm or 2 up (it may also be my imagination though!), does that matter?
-Will I be able to speak better?!!
-The Aligner pushes the sides of my lips out a bit (not too happy about that look!), will this affect my lip after the 4 months?

Thanks for your help!
Su

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Hi, you will not have any added benefit for wearing it for longer. The button is very hard wearing and will not be an issue. Your lip will remain slightly protruded until the end of treatment but will get a bit better and there is no guarantee that your speech will correct. Some people do adapt their speech readily and other people do not

I hope this helps

[SuEdi]

Thanks for your reply - if you can only wear your aligner for 16hrs one day can you make up by wearinf 22hrs for the next 2 days? I was at a wedding on Saturday and couldnt wear it all day so max i got was 16hrs and i felt soooo guilty!

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Unfortunately not. It's the consistency of the system that makes it work. Those who wear the aligner less during the week then more on weekends notice no tooth movement. If you are wearing it as your dentist has said then the tooth movement should start again

[davidbloom]

The more you can wear the Inman aligner the better. However by the time
you have removed it for meals a realistic amount is 20-21 hours / day. A
few hours without it in over the course of the day is no bad thing as it
means the teeth get a 'rest' from the forces applied and wearing it for
these extra few hours a day is unlikely to speed up the process
significantly .
The button placement is important and you should speak to your dentist
about checking them as this could slow down treatment time
Your speech should gradually improve
Your lip will not be affected after you stop wearing the Inamn

Regards

David Bloom
Past President BACD
Accredited member BACD