Many orthodontists will advise that Invisalign treatment can take between 6 – 12 months or more, depending on your case. There's no one-size-fits-all for determining how long your treatment will last. That's because every patient will have their own individual tooth alignment issues.
Around the 12-month mark, you can transition to wearing your retainers three to five nights per week. So, while you should be wearing them consistently throughout your lifetime, you won't need to wear them “forever.”
This initial stage of retainer wear usually lasts 3 – 6 months. Then, your orthodontist may say that you only have to wear your retainer at night. About 12 months or so after you finish with Invisalign, you might be able to cut down on retainer wear to just 3 – 5 nights each week for the rest of your life.
This process is called a mesial drift, meaning your pearly whites are always on the move. Your retainers will help prevent this from happening as you age. To maintain a straight smile for a lifetime, you're going to need to wear your retainers nightly for the rest of your life.
Your Teeth Will Shift
Without fail, if you leave your Invisalign trays out for too long, your teeth will start to move back into their old positions. Orthodontic treatment can move the teeth rather quickly by applying pressure. In a similar fashion, a reduction in that pressure will have the opposite effect.
Unfortunately, many patients make the assumption that once their teeth look straighter, they can stop wearing their aligners. However, it's crucial to your treatment that you keep your aligners in until your orthodontist tells you otherwise.
Although your teeth won't dramatically change overnight if you forget to wear your retainer, they will slowly move positions over time. For this reason, we encourage Invisalign patients to wear their retainers as often as Dr. Swan recommends.
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.
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.
A permanent, or bonded, retainer may cost from $150 to $500 to put in place or replace if lost or broken. The cost of the initial placement may be included in the overall cost of your braces.
So, is it a good idea to use the last set of aligners as retainers to keep teeth in place? “Aligners lose their integrity fairly quickly. It is OK to use an aligner as a retainer for 3-4 weeks, but after that the aligner plastic starts to wear down and can break.
Your teeth can move in even a few hours which is why not wearing Invisalign for a day can have such an impact on your overall results. Specifically, if they're left out for too long they may not fit again when you attempt to put them back in.
An orthodontic relapse can occur if teeth move positions after the tooth straightening treatment (braces). Our orthodontists have seen many cases where this has happened and now provide treatments to prevent and treat this problem.
The quick answer is absolutely! One of the biggest reasons why adults end up pursuing Invisalign treatment is because they didn't wear their retainers long enough after wearing traditional braces. This is because recently shifted teeth aren't permanently in place after realignment due to the alveolar bone.
If you forget to wear Invisalign, your teeth will begin to shift back to their original position. The aligners will not fit properly. Do not worry, though. It will not be difficult to get back on track with your treatment.
No, orthodontic treatment, including Invisalign and braces, does not directly impact your nose or lengthen your face. The reason people occasionally think their nose looks different after braces or their face seems to have lengthened is about the angles.
Wearing Permanent Retainers
You only wear braces for 1-2 years. However, permanent retainers stay put for years, sometimes even decades. Some people have even been able to wear their permanent retainers for up to 20 years.
Necessity to Repeat Treatment
Therefore, if you skip retainers during it, you risk losing all the orthodontic progress you've just made. “Since the teeth shift without the retainer, the patient would require getting braces all over again.
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.
The drawbacks of permanent retainers are that they: can make it more difficult to clean and floss the teeth. may trap in food particles that eventually cause cavities or gum disease. may cause discomfort when a person's tongue brushes against the wire.
There are a few disadvantages of permanent retainers such as they can make it difficult to properly clean teeth, the wire can trap food, bacteria, and other debris, increasing the risk of dental problems, especially if you don't brush and floss regularly, they can become damaged or wear down over time, so you may have ...
If you neglect to wear your retainer, your teeth may move back into their original position. This is what may happen if you do not wear your retainer after treatment with braces. Your teeth will begin to move back into their initial place as soon as your braces are removed.
Invisalign can straighten your teeth quicker than traditional braces. Most patients are finished with treatment in just one to two years while traditional braces can take up to three years to yield significant results.
Why Does The 22-Hour Rule Matter? If there is a cardinal rule for Invisalign, it's this: your trays must be worn 20 – 22 hours a day for them to be effective. The trays slowly and gradually shift your teeth into place, so if you aren't wearing them, they obviously cannot do their job!
The simple answer is: “It depends.” For simple cases, treatment time with Invisalign aligners can be as short as six months. Typically, Invisalign will take 12 months to 18 months to straighten your teeth. For more complex cases such as crowded teeth, the treatment time could be 24 months or slightly longer.