Is it OK to wear your retainer after long time?

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asked May 2, 2022 in Dental by Whiskerbiscuit (610 points)
Is it OK to wear your retainer after long time?

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answered May 2, 2022 by Cathy21 (85,770 points)
You can wear your retainer again after a long time.

It is OK to wear retainers for a long time and in fact dentists recommend you wear your retainer for life to keep your teeth straight and prevent the teeth from shifting out of place.

Although you can stop wearing the retainer as often as you would in the beginning.

Your retainer can fix your teeth again if the teeth have not shifted too much out of place.

If the teeth have shifted too far out of place then the retainer won't be able to fix the teeth.

If you want to keep your teeth straight and aligned then you need to wear the retainer forever but you can stop wearing the retainer all the time.

Your dentists advice is, that you must wear your retainers for as long as you want straight teeth.

Over time and with the addition of fixed bonded retainers you may wear your removable retainers less often.

But, they will never advise you to stop wearing your retainers completely.

You can drink with your retainer in but when you have your retainer in you should avoid drinks such as alcohol, soda or other sugary drinks which can lead to tooth decay.

If you don't wear your retainer for one night then your teeth might move slightly but probably not enough to be noticeable.

Teeth can sometimes shift slightly even with a retainer.

If the retainer is not fitting snugly enough then the teeth may shift some but usually it's rare that happens.

Retainers can only move teeth back slightly but the retainer cannot move teeth back all that much.

However the retainer can correct minor shifts in teeth but not severe shifts.

Retainers don't straighten teeth but instead retainers help to keep your teeth straight and prevents them from shifting and moving around.

Retainers don't apply the steady force over time needed to make major changes to your teeth' position.

You cannot stop wearing your retainer after 2 years unless you want to have your teeth possibly shift and move.

To keep your teeth from shifting you must wear the retainer for at least 10 years as an adolescent and as an adult you should wear the retainer for life.

If you stop wearing your retainer, even for just a short time, you can experience movement of your teeth.

This is particularly a concern for people with more severe orthodontic conditions such as crowding or severely misplaced teeth, as the teeth could possibly move back to their previous state.

Your teeth will most often move slightly if you don't wear your retainer for a week.

Although your teeth should not move much if you only go a week without wearing the retainer but the longer you don't wear the retainer the more your teeth can shift and move.

If you forget to wear your retainer one night then your teeth may shift slightly but not very much.

Usually though if you forget to wear your retainer for only one night then your teeth will most often be fine.

But if you keep forgetting to wear your retainer at night when you should then your teeth can shift again.

Without a retainer, your teeth will begin to shift back to where they were before.

As we age, our teeth do naturally shift some on their own.

But, wearing your retainer can help ensure that any shifting that does occur is minimal and you can keep the straight smile you have after braces.

When you first get your retainer fitted you need to wear your retainer at least 12 hours out of every day for the first eight weeks following the completion of your treatment.

However, you can remove them when you eat or brush your teeth.

After that initial three months, you will wear your retainer for 12 hours a day (or night) for the next nine months.

By the end of this first year, your teeth should be more securely placed and less likely to quickly relapse

Your teeth can shift back if you stop wearing your retainer.

It's important to keep wearing your retainer for as long as your dentist says you should.

Though the process becomes slower and slower, if you stop wearing your retainer, your teeth will gradually move back to their original position. In a way, teeth remember their original position.

If you don't wear your retainer, your teeth will eventually shift back to their old positions.

This is particularly true in the months and even years directly following treatment with aligners or braces.

If you stop wearing your retainer before your teeth have had time to set into place then your teeth can shift back out of place defeating the purpose of the retainer in the first place.

If your teeth shift back out of place after you stop wearing your retainer then your teeth will require new orthodontic treatment to fix your bite.

Then you'll have to start all over again and wear the retainer longer.

For at least the first 4 to 6 months of getting the retainer you need to wear the retainer for 22 hours per day.

Then after the 4 to 6 months of wearing the retainer for 22 hours per day you can switch to just wearing the retainer for 8 to 10 hours per day or just overnight.

Most people just wear the retainer overnight which is usually enough to keep their teeth aligned after the first 4 to 6 months.

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