Dots for Spots work best on spots that have come to a head (ready to pop), although they are a great way to stop the touching, picking, and squeezing of any spot.
You can tell your dot is ready to be removed when the translucent center has turned opaque white. We usually recommend a minimum of 6 hours for our deep pore cleanser patches to do their best work, but every spot has a mind of its own, so you may need to change it more or less frequently.