Retainers - after Invisalign or braces.

Being an orthodontist is a bit like being a parent – you find yourself repeating the same things over and over again.  And, often, what we say goes either unheard or unheeded!

That’s why I’m going to start this blog section with the most important information about orthodontic treatment – what happens at the end?  So, here is what I have been telling patients for about 25 years:

• Retainers are forever.  Sad to say, but some of my kids – sorry, patients – just don’t hear that.  So let’s say it again, if you want your teeth to say straight, you have to work on it, by wearing retainers.
• If you stop wearing retainers, your teeth move.  Simple?  Apparently not!  Every year we see patients returning with this sort of problem, caused by failing to wear retainers as instructed:





• Teeth move throughout life.  Even people with perfectly straight natural teeth in their teens will usually experience movement (crowding) later in life.
• There is no perfect retainer.  It’s all a compromise!

Click here for more information about retainer types.  (Opens in a new window and requires Adobe Reader.  This can be downloaded free here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/)

By the way, it doesn’t matter:

• How old you are.
• Who treated you.
• Whether you have Invisalign, metal, Damon, or ceramic (so-called invisible) braces.
• If you had to have teeth out for your orthodontic treatment.

So, wear your retainers, or your teeth will move.  Thanks.