The retainer should be removed for eating and drinking. Water and milk are best. Take the retainer out to clean your teeth, gently brush the retainer brace at the same time, and rinse the brace after meals with cool water.
Although drinking milk with your aligners may not stain your teeth or aligners, but it may cause teeth cavities if you wear your aligners without rinsing your mouth after a drink. Therefore, the best practice is to remove your aligners whenever you drink anything other than water.
NEVER eat anything while wearing your retainers. It's OK to drink water while wearing the retainers, but remove them if you drink other beverages. If you forget to wear your retainer, wear the retainer full-time for few days to re-align your teeth. Your teeth may be sore while they re-align.
Never pull on the center of the wire. You should always be sure that your retainers are seated completely. Do not allow them to “flop” around. Don't leave your retainers in a hot car or put in hot water (such as a boiling them or putting them into the dishwasher.)
Eating and drinking while wearing your retainer increases the risk that sugars, bacteria, and food particles will become trapped within the retainer. When this occurs, your risk of dental plaque, cavities, and even gum disease increases.
How many hours should you wear your retainer? The first three months after you've completed your orthodontic treatment you need to wear your retainers full-time, which means approximately 22 hours a day. That does mean you will need to sleep with them. However, you can remove them when you eat or brush your teeth.
Most orthodontists advise their patients to wear their retainers for the rest of their lives. However, the retainers only need to be worn at night and skipping a night here and there is no big deal.
Once your teeth have settled into place more permanently, you may find that you can go a few days without wearing your retainers and they will still fit. It is a good idea to wear them at least 3 times a week while you sleep to keep them fitting properly.
Retainers keep your smile in place when active treatment is complete and adults need to wear their retainers for life, but adolescents may be able to stop wearing them after about 10 years.
If you use a cheap retainer, it may have micro-cracks that you are not aware of. These cracks prevent the retainer from doing its proper job which may result in your teeth shifting even if you wear a retainer. Hand-crafting a retainer is an important job.
Your retainers should be worn at all times. It is only necessary to remove your retainers while brushing your teeth. When you brush your teeth after every meal, brush your retainers with your toothbrush and toothpaste.
The retainer, after compeltion of orthodontic treatment, is to insure that the teeth don't shift. It is usually worn at night. Your son should be able to close his mouth all the way. The retainer should not interfere with the bite and should be comfortable.
Again, drinking beverages with a straw is recommended when you're undergoing Invisalign treatment. A straw allows the liquid less contact with your teeth and less contact with your Invisalign if they're still in. If you simply must drink a sugary or alcoholic drink with Invisalign, use a straw.
All of your Invisalign trays are custom-designed to fit your teeth and to adjust to your shifting smile. If you skip wearing them too often, the future sets of trays may not fit. This not only means that you won't get the results that you expect, but that you also might have to pay for entirely new trays.
You may not drink hot liquids with retainers in your mouth: i.e. coffee, tea, soup, or hot chocolate. Keep retainers AWAY FROM DOGS AND CATS. Pets have been known to chew through retainer cases.
If you miss a day here and there, it's not a big deal. However, if you continually skip wearing your retainer, especially in the three years post-treatment, it can cause issues. If you skip or lose your retainer for a week, it's possible to have some small amount of relapse.
Permanent retainers aren't truly permanent. They're only called “permanent” because they can't be removed easily, unlike removable retainers. Permanent retainers do eventually wear out, but they've been known to last for upwards of 20 years. When they wear out, they can be removed and replaced.
When you stop wearing retainers consistently, the teeth will slowly shift and move into different positions. This means that formerly crowded teeth will become crowded and crooked again. Teeth that had spaces between then will revert to gaps opening back up.
The results of the first studies, based on the movement of 30 teeth in 15 subjects over 84 days, have been summarized in a recent publication. 1 These results showed that the overall mean velocity of tooth movement was 3.8 mm/day, or about 1.1 mm/month.
Not only do you have to wear a retainer after you complete your treatment, but your orthodontist will definitely know if you've really been keeping up with it.
Here's the short answer: As long as you want your teeth to remain straight, you should be wearing your retainers. It is recommended you wear your retainer at least 12 hours out of every day for the first eight weeks following the completion of your treatment.
If your retainer feels tight every night to the point of discomfort, talk to your orthodontist. In most cases, this happens when you move to a nightly schedule too quickly. When you see your orthodontist, they'll likely recommend that you return to wearing your retainer for part of the day until your teeth adjust.
When a retainer feels tight and makes your teeth sore, most of the time it is because you have not been wearing it enough. Even a slight movement that is hard to visually see with your eyes can be enough to make your retainer feel tight.
If you accidentally forget to wear your removable retainer for a day or two, don't worry too much. Resume your retainer regimen as instructed, and you should be fine. If it's been longer than that, such as weeks, or even months, try it on to see if it still fits.