People who have used braces know the importance of the day when they visit a dentist to remove the braces. When you visit your dentist to remove the braces, you can’t wait to see your straight teeth in the mirror. However, your orthodontic treatment has not yet come to an end.
Braces help straighten your teeth, but you need to put a retainer on your teeth to help them stay in the new position. Let us explore the importance and benefits of wearing a retainer after the removal of braces.
Before knowing about the importance of retainers, let us first check the types of retainers. There are two types of retainers – removable and fixed.
Removable retainers.
Removable retainers are made up of a combination of wires that passes across the front side of the upper and lower teeth. It has hooks and acrylic material to help you insert it around your teeth. The hooks hold the retainers in their place. The wires are adjustable for slight movement of teeth. Removable retainers are best for kids and children as they do not like to wear them all day. Also, some people prefer removing the braces or retainers at night.
Fixed retainers.
As the name suggests, fixed retainers are fixed behind your teeth. They consist of a wire that stretches across your front or bottom teeth or both. You can brush and floss your teeth as you used to do when braces were fixed on them. You can use a floss threader to clean the spaces between your teeth.
Whether a patient needs removable or fixed retainers depends on their oral health. The dentist offering treatment diagnoses the condition of the teeth after removing the braces and recommends wearing removable or fixed retainers to the patient for a specific time.
Now, as we are familiar with retainers, let us know the importance of using them after the removal of braces.
Hold the teeth in new positions.
Braces help the teeth to get into a straight position. If you have used the braces to straighten your misaligned teeth to fix the gaps between them, they require some time to stabilize. Your teeth require support to stay in the new position even after the removal of braces. Retainers support the teeth in their new position until they adopt the changes forever.
For stabilizing the bite.
After the removal of braces, the bone and soft tissues require some time to adapt to the changes in the positioning of teeth. Retainers help with stabilizing teeth in their new positions and minimizes the chances of shifting and relapse. Dentists recommend wearing retainer braces for 12 to 22 hours every day for two months. Your dentist may advise you to wear the retainers for more than two months, depending on the condition of your teeth.
To avoid the reversal of treatment.
The teeth that undergo a change in their position tend to move back to their initial positions after removing braces. Dentists suggest you wear retainers to prevent the movement of teeth back to their initial positions. If the teeth move back to their initial positions, all your time and money spent on the treatment gets wasted. Therefore, it is better to wear the retainers for a few months to prevent the reversal of treatment.
Helps to remove the difficulty in speech
Some people find it difficult to speak some words due to the repositioning of teeth. Wearing a retainer can help produce the sounds in the manner. Some people suffer from a speech disorder known as tongue thrust, a condition in which the tongue enters the spaces between the teeth while speaking.
In such a condition, a person is not able to speak some words correctly. Dentists suggest these people wear a tongue cage, that is a special type of retina to prevent tongue thrust. Wearing a tongue cage helps the users how to pronounce the words and sounds correctly.
Smileville offers a wide range of dental treatments in South Morang, Australia. They have a professional team of dentists that offer a variety of treatments in general and cosmetic dentistry. Whether you need an Invisalign orthodontist or a general dentist, you can find all dental treatments under one roof. Smileville serves the areas of Epping, Mill Park, Plenty, South Morang, and the locations surrounding these areas.
How long do you need to wear a retainer?
Most people ask their dentist how long they need to wear a retainer after removing braces. Your doctor may suggest you wear the retainers for 2 months or more, depending on the condition of your teeth and your overall dental health.
However, many people using removable retainers don’t wear them for the recommended time and remove them as per their wish during the treatment period. In many cases, doing so leads to improper movement of teeth, which further leads to wrong positioning. In such cases, the patient may need to take the braces treatment once again.
If a dentist detects the deviation of teeth from the required position, he or she may recommend the patient to take the braces treatment once again. Even if the patient puts on the braces once again, she will be required to use the retainers, which prolongs the treatment period.
Therefore, it is best to use the braces and retainers for the time period as recommended by your dentist to avoid repeating the treatment. Following the treatment as per your dentist’s advice helps you complete the treatment in the shortest possible time.
Final Words
Retainers are as important as the braces treatment. Wearing them for a few months can straighten your teeth permanently. Therefore, patients should wear the retainer as recommended by their orthodontist. The benefits you enjoy on completion of treatment is worth the time and money you spend. Now, as you know the importance of wearing retainers after removal of braces, you can advise your friends and family to take complete treatment as offered by their dentist.
