About 4 million Americans — of all ages — embark on the braces journey each year with the goal of emerging with beautifully straight teeth. That journey doesn't necessarily end once the braces come off or you ditch the aligners.
To protect the time, energy, and financial outlay of teeth straightening, the team of orthodontic experts here at Willow Glen Dental Specialists often recommends a follow-up retainer. Here's a look at why we make this recommendation.
Whether we used transitional metal braces, ceramic ones, or clear aligners, such as Invisalign® and ClearCorrect®, to straighten your or a family member’s teeth, we want to encourage these teeth to hold their new positions.
A retainer is the best tool for this job — it’s an appliance that isn’t moving your teeth, but rather, helping them to retain their new positions, hence the name retainer.
Retainers are also especially important for adolescents as their bodies are still developing and changing, which means teeth can shift back. By wearing a retainer, teens can ensure that their teeth stay in the position we put them, instead of moving back to their default position.
This post-braces shifting and movement of the teeth can also occur in adults, so we recommend retainers for anyone who’s undergone teeth straightening.
The way your jaw is shaped and aligned, and how you chew your food, are things that we don’t correct with braces. So, the normal stresses you place on your teeth, such as how you chew, can work toward pushing your teeth out of their new positions.
With a retainer, we can help your teeth resist the forces that might move them, to help them keep to the straightening plan.
As a bonus, clear aligner versions of retainers can also protect your teeth against grinding if that's an issue, acting as a mouthguard as well as a retainer.
Just as we have choices in braces and aligners, we also offer choices in retainers. There are different types of retainers, and most are designed to be removable and far more discreet than braces.
For example, you can get a traditional retainer that features a metal wire across the front of your teeth. Or, as we mentioned, you can get clear aligner versions of a retainer.
Whichever choice you make, you should wear your retainer for at least four to six months after your braces to allow time for your newly straightened teeth to settle in. There’s also a good case for continuing to wear a retainer for as long as you can, just to protect your teeth straightening investment.
Ultimately, we prefer to figure out a post-braces retainer on a case-by-case basis, and we’re happy to sit down with you to determine what’s best for your teeth straightening goals.
If you’d like to explore your options in retainers and whether you might benefit from one, your first step is to contact our office in San Jose, California, at 408-478-9081, to schedule a consultation. You can also request an appointment using our online form.
