Retainers after braces. Are you done yet?
As much as you’ve been waiting to get rid of those stick-on metal beads from your teeth to give you that perfect smile you’ve always wished for, you need to re-think before you rush.
While an orthodontic treatment lasts from months to years, depending on the individual requirements, in order to maintain this newly attained smile, you must start wearing retainers from the moment you get your braces off. This after-treatment tool must be worn for next few months to years, again depending on individual’s requirements. These retainers are usually a set of transparent sheet coatings, individually designed, to hold your teeth in the desired alignment even after your braces have been removed. They are invisible and are usually similar to what is used for ‘Invisalign’ treatments, so you don’t need to worry about being asked about your braces anymore!
To understand the reason behind this, think about your bone and the surrounding tissues which have been under a constant pressure since the day you put on your braces. Now this pressure gets suddenly released and the teeth try moving back to their original position. Thus, to prevent this relapse of teeth from their currently attained position, we need to withhold them until the gums and tissues are relaxed and no longer tend to move back.
While most patients follow their routine, few end up losing what they achieved after bearing those painful braces for months (even years in some cases!). You don’t want to waste your time, efforts and money just because of a few more months of effort, do you?
Consult your dentist or orthodontist to understand how it works and you will be able to maintain your smile with much ease and less effort. Call Lincoln Dental, your dentist at Bulleen today to enquire more about orthodontic treatment at (03) 9850 1713.