Why is Wearing a Retainer Crucial?
Posted on October 25, 2022
Congratulations, your orthodontic treatment is complete! By the time your braces are removed, they will have straightened your teeth, and you will be ready for a lifetime of happy smiles. The next phase of your treatment is equally important. Your orthodontist will tell you that you need to wear a retainer. Here’s why wearing your retainer is incredibly important.
Keeping Your Results
When braces are removed, your teeth will want to return to their previous positions. Fortunately, a retainer is a perfect tool to stop this from happening. If you don’t wear one, your perfectly aligned teeth will revert to their former condition. This is not a good thing, so you need to ensure that you wear your retainer for the recommended period. By the time you are done wearing the retainer, your teeth will be permanently in the new position, and you can be guaranteed that they will not shift back.
Avoiding a Second Round of Treatment
When you wear a retainer, your teeth will not shift back. This means there will be no need to get braces again. But if you don’t, you will end up exactly where you started – needing braces. This can be a bit stressful. Taking care of braces is not easy. Few people would want to go through the entire process again. If you want to avoid paying for the second round of braces treatment, you should stick to your retainer. Orthodontists usually recommend wearing a retainer for about three to six months after the orthodontic treatment, but every case differs.
Retainers Finish the Job
It’s possible that you may have a few gaps in your teeth after orthodontic treatment is done. Your orthodontist can give you a retainer than continues to gently guide your teeth until those spaces are closed. There are many types of retainers and your orthodontist will tell you how long you should wear your retainers.
Unfortunately, braces alone will not guarantee permanent results. In fact, teeth will naturally want to go back to their original positions once there are no forces to hold them in place. This is why a retainer is crucial. As your teeth become more firmly set, the tendency to shift regresses and your new smile will be permanent. Get in touch with our orthodontist today to find out more about braces treatments and retainers.