Aligner guides
Plain, practical guides to wearing clear aligners — and tracking them privately. No fluff, no fear-mongering, just what actually helps.
- Guide
How many hours a day should you wear your aligners?
The 20–22 hour rule, why it exists, and how to actually hit it without obsessing over the clock.
- Guide
What happens if you don't wear your aligners enough?
Under-wearing aligners doesn't just pause progress — it can set you back. Here's what actually goes wrong, and how to recover.
- Compare
The best free aligner tracker apps (and what to watch for)
What a free aligner tracker should actually do, what the paid apps lock away, and the privacy trade-offs nobody mentions.
- Guide
How to track your aligner wear time
Three ways to track wear time — by hand, by stopwatch, or automatically — and how to pick one you'll actually stick with.
- Guide
When should you change your aligner trays?
How to know when to switch trays, why the prescribed interval matters, and why changing early or late can set your treatment back.
- Guide
Do aligners hurt when you switch trays?
What's normal when you start a new tray, how long the soreness lasts, ways to ease it, and the signs that mean you should call your orthodontist.
- Guide
How long does clear-aligner treatment take?
Typical treatment lengths, what makes yours longer or shorter, and how to estimate your own finish date from your tray count and schedule.
- Guide
Eating and drinking with aligners: what's allowed
Why trays come out to eat, what you can safely drink with them in, and how to stop meals and snacks from eating your wear time.
- Guide
Aligner attachments explained
What those little tooth-coloured bumps are, why your orthodontist adds them, and how to live with and care for attachments.
- Guide
How to stay on track with your aligners
The small habits that make 20–22 hours a day happen on their own — plus how to plan for hard days and recover quickly when you slip.
- Compare
Why a free, private aligner tracker is worth holding out for
Most trackers cost money, your data, or both. Here's what genuinely free and genuinely private mean — and what to insist on.
- Compare
Alternatives to the official aligner app
Why patients look past the manufacturer's own app, and what to look for in a faster, more private tracker that works for any aligner brand.