During your teenage years, your parents had you wear Braces Tamarac because you had crooked teeth. Like every brace-wearer, for sure, your orthodontist advised you to use a retainer when your braces came off. You’ve also been told how often you should wear them and for how long. It is their responsibility to inform you that. However, if you failed to follow their instructions and dismissed wearing your retainer since you are confident that your teeth are already perfectly aligned, you just made one huge mistake.
The reason why your orthodontist lets you wear a retainer after wearing braces is to keep your teeth from shifting. See, your teeth move as you continue to grow. When you’re wearing a retainer, it will control and stop the movement. When wearing your retainer, expect that you will feel pressure and minimal discomfort. Don’t worry, this sensation is completely normal and it will subside in a couple of days.
The reason why orthodontists strongly recommend you wear your retainer for a specified period of time is to maintain the desired position of each tooth. The most critical time that you really need to wear your retainer is during the first three months because it is during this time when your jawbone is still stabilizing to its new positions and without retainers, they could move. The speed at which a tooth moves depends on person to person. If you don’t wear your retainer, your overbite could relapse and your teeth could crowd again.
For whatever reason you failed to wear your retainer, don’t fret because you can always wear braces again and it’s not as bad as you think. The good news is that even if your teeth got misaligned, an orthodontic treatment the second time around won’t take as long as it did when you first wore braces but under one condition, you need to see your orthodontist as soon as possible so they can correct it before it gets worse.
Today, you can have the option to choose which type of teeth alignment appliance to wear. When wearing Braces Tamarac for the second time, make sure that this time, you follow your orthodontist’s advice. At TLC Dental & Orthodontics, we can make your teeth straighter at an affordable price. Call us today for an appointment.