If you want to achieve the perfect smile, this often involves more than just wearing braces or aligners. Indeed, once the braces are removed, you need to go through another crucial stage – retainers.
These devices play a significant role in maintaining the results achieved by your procedure, but many people wonder how long they need to ensure best results.
Here we’ll answer this question and more, taking an in-depth look at retainers, what they are, how they work and how long they need to be worn to achieve that sparkling smile.
What Are Retainers?
Retainers are dental appliances that are custom-made to fit an individual’s mouth and hold their teeth in their corrected positions achieved by their braces or aligners.
Retainers are typically made of plastic or metal wires and are designed to prevent the teeth from shifting back into their original misaligned positions.
After the completion of orthodontic treatment, retainers work by stabilising the teeth while the surrounding gums and bone adjust to their new alignment to preserve the results achieved by your orthodontic treatment.
Duration Of Wear
When it’s time to move onto retainers, most orthodontic patients wonder how long and how often they’ll need to wear them.
The answer depends on various factors, including the individual’s orthodontic history and the recommendation of their orthodontist. However, as a general guideline, orthodontists typically advise patients to wear their retainers every night for about a year after the braces or aligners are removed.
After the initial year of nightly wear, many orthodontists recommend wearing retainers every other night for the next five to ten years, depending on individual circumstances.
This intensive wear schedule helps ensure that the teeth remain stable during the critical early phase of adjustment, while wearing them every other night thereafter should help hold the teeth in place in the long term.
Again, we must stress this is just a rough guideline. In some cases, your orthodontist may recommend a different regimen completely. In the end, it all depends on your personal goals and treatment plan.
Benefits Of Regular Retainer Wear:
By consistently wearing your retainers you can benefit in numerous ways that extend beyond just maintaining straight teeth. These include:
Prevent Relapse:
Regular retainer wear minimises the risk of orthodontic relapse, ensuring that your teeth remain in their corrected positions. This means you won’t need to go through the often painful and painstaking process of dental treatment and braces again.
Preserve Oral Health:
Retainers help maintain proper tooth alignment, reducing the likelihood of oral health issues such as crowding, spacing or bite problems.
Protect Your Investment:
Orthodontic treatment is never cheap, but if you look at it like an investment in your smile then it’s always worth it.
Wearing retainers as recommended by your orthodontist protects this investment by preserving the results of your treatment for the long term.
So that’s how long you need to wear your retainers. In truth, much depends on your individual treatment plan, but in most cases, you’ll need to wear them for at least five-ten years.