Dexcom G7 Sensor Wear Duration
The Dexcom G7 sensor is FDA-approved for 10 days of wear and must be replaced every 10 days. 1, 2
Official Wear Duration
- The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American Diabetes Association both confirm that the Dexcom G7 has a 10-day wear period 1
- This 10-day duration is the manufacturer-specified and FDA-approved timeframe for the device 3
Clinical Performance Data
- Accuracy studies demonstrate the G7 maintains performance throughout the full 10-day wear period, with mean absolute relative difference (MARD) of 8.2% for arm placement and 9.1% for abdomen placement across all 10 days 4
- In pregnant women with diabetes, the G7 showed %20/20 agreement rates of 78.6% on day 1,96.3% on days 4-7, and 97.3% on day 10, demonstrating maintained or improved accuracy throughout wear 5
Real-World Wear Patterns
- Despite the 10-day approval, real-world data shows most youth with type 1 diabetes wear sensors for less than the full duration, with median wear time of only 8.6 days 6
- Only 39.9% of sensors were actually worn for the full 10 days or longer in a real-world cohort of 643 youth, while 24.8% were removed before 7 days 6
- This shorter real-world wear means patients may require approximately 43 sensors per year rather than the standard 36 sensors typically provided to maintain continuous coverage 6
Critical Implementation Points
- Never extend sensor wear beyond 10 days, as the device is not validated for longer use and accuracy deteriorates 1, 2
- Insert a new sensor before removing the old one to avoid gaps in continuous glucose monitoring data 1, 2
- The G7 is factory-calibrated and does not require fingerstick calibrations for treatment decisions 2
Extended Wear Research
- An investigational 15.5-day version of the G7 has been studied and showed MARD of 8.0% with 87.7% of values within 15%/15 mg/dL of reference values, but this extended wear duration is not yet FDA-approved for clinical use 7