Know Everything About Retainers & Reasons To Wear Them

Crooked teeth or a misaligned bite is the thing with which not everyone is not blessed. If you don’t use a retainer after braces, your teeth will move back to the place they were before orthodontic treatment. An orthodontic regression will occur if you skip the retainer, which may need comprehensive treatment to rectify later. The teeth will move in the years following braces removal. Still, their shifting time will rely on how regularly you wear the retainers. Here are some questions many people ask our orthodontists about retainers.

How Retainers Will Support My Orthodontic Treatment?

5 Reasons Why Are Retainers Important? 

1. Stabilize Your Bite

Once your braces are removed, the soft tissue and bone around your teeth require time to adjust to the modifications made in tooth repositioning. They gradually stabilize in their new place.

2. Space for Wisdom Teeth & New Teeth

Braces are most typically worn by teenagers whose gums & jaw are still growing. So, they would use retainers for teeth at about the same time when wisdom teeth erupt. When they use the retainer with care, the required space will be kept in their jaw to adjust new teeth, like wisdom teeth. Continuing retainers guarantee that the teeth don’t move or crowd due to a shortage of room.

3. Prevent Treatment Reversal

The teeth will begin shifting back to their previous place in the months after removing braces. A retainer can stop the reversal process. However, relying on your case, you may be needed to wear a retainer for a couple of years.

4. Aligning Jaw Bones With Gums

When your teeth are aligned to a new place, the gums and bones enclosing the teeth will take longer to follow suit. Retainers assist in quickening teeth alignment and balancing your bite.

5. Help Teeth Holding Their Position

If you utilize braces to fix the space in between the teeth, it will take some time for the teeth to sustain. This can happen even in the case of badly displaced teeth, large overbites, and underbites. It is essential to keep the teeth, which demand to be moved a significant distance or repositioned greatly and firmly in their new spaces until the mouth can adjust. The retainer helps in accomplishing this.

How Long Do I Have to Wear a Retainer?

Each orthodontic treatment & the types of retainer is different. The exact time period of wearing a retainer relies on the type of orthodontic treatment you have received. The average period for wearing removable retainers is at least a year after removing your braces. You may have to wear your retainer every time for the initial 4-6 months. 

How Do I Take Care of My Retainers?

• The first step towards caring for your retainers is strictly practicing oral hygiene, just like you would with your braces.
• Follow the instructions carefully about wearing, cleaning, and keeping your retainers.
• If you are wearing fixed retainers, you have to make sure you floss between the wires connected to your teeth so that there’s no plaque formation on them.
• If you are using removable retainers, wash your retainers with lukewarm water every time after eating or drinking. You can also use toothpaste and your toothbrush to cleanse them.

Get Retainers In Stillwater

You have landed on the right page if you are looking for the best orthodontist in Stillwater for retainers. Now that you know about the importance of retainers & when to wear them, you must follow your orthodontist’s advice to get a straight smile. We have professional & experienced orthodontists at our dental office who can provide you the best treatment like Invisalign or metal braces. So, do not hesitate to contact us now to book your appointment with us to achieve the most beautiful smile.