Finally the braces are off
After so many months of hard work your teeth are now perfectly aligned and you can now smile happily. Congratulations, we’re sure it feels awesome without your braces!
Those perfectly aligned teeth, however, will retain their new position only for so long. Teeth are funny things; they tend to shift back to their original, not so good-looking position, if they are not encouraged to remain in their new position. You don’t want that happening any time soon now, do you? Of course not, no one wants all those long months with braces and those regular trips to the orthodontist for nothing.
That’s why you’ll need to get retainers immediately after removing your braces. Retainers encourage your teeth to retain their new position and with regular use, they will remain in that awesome position forever.
What is a retainer and who needs one?
Retainers are appliances that are used to help your teeth retain their new position. As such, retainers are usually worn immediately the braces have been removed. Retainers are a necessity when it comes to orthodontics. This is because our teeth have a tendency to return back to their original position after they have been moved. Retainers are the appliance that keeps that from ever happening. Anyone who has undergone orthodontics needs to use retainers to keep their teeth in their new position.
Why a retainer is necessary after orthodontic treatment
To better understand why you need a retainer after straightening your teeth with braces, it’ll be a good idea to understand how a brace works to correct the position of the teeth. Our teeth are surrounded by gums. Deep within these gums are fibrous ligaments which holds the teeth in place and down to jaw. When we correct the position of these teeth with braces, we are essentially using the braces to pull the teeth to align them.
The pulling effect of the braces draws on the ligament holding the teeth in place on the jaw. As such, the ligaments become stretched. Now when the braces are removed, the force pulling the ligament and aligning the teeth will be removed as well.
The fibrous ligaments, like elastic bands, will usually try to return to their normal position over time. This will in turn pull the corrected teeth back to their original position and you’ll end up with more or less the same poor alignment of teeth as you began with.
Wearing retainers after straightening your teeth is just as important as an adult as your ligaments are stronger and have higher chances of returning your teeth to their original position. A retainer is essentially the device that prevents a relapse of your teeth to their original misaligned position.
Whilst you might have researched that there are several different brands of retainers available, each of them is essentially either a fixed retainer or a removable retainer.
Permanent or Fixed retainers
Fixed retainers are retainers which can only be removed by a dentist or orthodontist. This type of retainer uses a thin wire to hold your teeth in place, usually attached to the inside side of the teeth. Fixed retainers are used on the front 4 or 6 teeth so do not stop the other teeth from moving.
Removable retainers
Removable retainers can be removed by the patient whenever they want. If you are confident enough that you will always remember to wear your retainers and for the recommended period of time, then you might want to consider a removable retainer rather than a fixed retainer.
How long should retainers be worn?
While retainers often short-live the freedom that comes with the removal of your braces, they are a huge necessity to maintain your straight teeth. As such they are worth wearing exactly as we have asked you to.
For adults, you probably will need to continue using your retainers for the rest of your life. This is because adult tooth ligaments are already set and will easily pull back the teeth to their original misaligned position.
The good thing is, you don’t need to wear your retainers all day long – at least not after the first few of weeks. After a few weeks of full time wear, you can reduce your retainer wear to night time only then after another twelve months, every other night.
If keeping your teeth perfectly straight is the goal, then you should make wearing your retainers part of your routine. This way, you will help yourself to keep your teeth straight forever.