Is It Essential to Wear Retainers after Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment with Braces?

After you undergo orthodontic treatment to straighten your teeth, the orthodontist providing the treatment may disappoint you; at the end of the therapy, stating you must wear retainers to keep your bite in shape after removing the braces. The recommendation by the orthodontist can leave you irritated and wondering why you must wear retainers after braces.

Wearing retainers is uncomfortable and inconvenient than having to go through wearing braces all over again. This article provides information on the basics of wearing retainers and how long you must have them in your mouth every day. You may not prefer the retainer after going through orthodontic treatment for a couple of years or more. However, if you consider the retainer a tooth positioner, you will realize the benefit of having one in your mouth after orthodontic treatment with braces.

What Kind of Retainers Are Recommended by Orthodontists to You?

The Orthodontist in St Petersburg, FL, recommends a bonded retainer attached to your teeth after braces removal to keep your teeth in place during the first few months after your treatment. Bonded retainers are recommended if you need to wear them on your teeth throughout the day and night following orthodontic treatment.

The dentist near me may recommend a Hawley retainer, which is removable. These retainers are removable for eating and cleaning your teeth after meals. However, having a removable retainer does not take away the responsibility of following your orthodontist’s instructions.

How Many Hours Must Show Wear the Retainer after Completing Orthodontic Treatment?

If you are recommended bonded retainers, they must remain on your teeth throughout the day and night. The instructions are different if you have a removable retainer. Your orthodontist provides instructions according to your specific treatment needs.

Removable retainers must also remain on your teeth throughout the day except when eating or maintaining oral hygiene. The retainers stay on your teeth for the initial four to six months after the braces are removed. However, many orthodontists recommend that you wear a removable retainer for at least nine months after braces removal. You may receive instructions from your orthodontist to remove the retainers from your teeth when sleeping after several months.

Do You Need Retainers without Exceptions after Orthodontic Treatments?

Approximately 50 percent of all orthodontists prescribe removable retainers to their patients after completing treatment with braces. They also recommend wearing the retainers every day for nine months and after that reducing the duration to wearing the retainers every night.

The need to wear a retainer continues to remain with you forever, although replacements for the retainers are required every two years. Some patients are recommended lingual retainers to keep in their mouths throughout their life. Whether the orthodontist recommends bonded retainers or removable the patient is instructed to continue with the treatment indefinitely.

What Happens If You Ignore Wearing Retainers?

Your teeth are moving throughout your life. If you have already undergone orthodontic treatment, you are familiar with the location of your teeth in the mouth are subject to change due to many reasons and wearing orthodontic braces. Your teeth are stubborn and will move back into their original positions unless they are held in place by retainers.

If you ignore wearing retainers as suggested by Dr. Cecilia Sorrelle from dental arts ninth Street, rest assured your teeth will begin shifting back to their old places, causing a relapse. If you ignore wearing retainers, you may need orthodontic intervention with braces within ten years or even earlier.

Do not compromise with wearing the retainers, even for a couple of weeks or months. The time is sufficient for your teeth to shift, making the retainer an inefficient device to fit on your teeth. You may need to invest in new retainers all over again merely because you ignored your orthodontist’s advice.

Orthodontists don’t recommend retainers after removing braces from your mouth to torture you with additional dental devices further. They are fully aware of how your teeth will move back into their original places if retainers do not restrain them. It is why they recommend these devices over your teeth even after completing orthodontic treatment successfully.

After undergoing orthodontic treatment to straighten your crooked teeth, it would be a gross injustice if you ignored the orthodontist’s advice to wear retainers on your teeth. Retainers are essential after undergoing orthodontic treatment with braces as they help keep your teeth looking beautiful and allow you to show them off to everyone around you.