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.
You should wear your retainers nightly for at least a year. After that, you can shift your wear to every other night or so. After a few years, most individuals choose to wear theirs at night around three to five times a week.
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.
Missing one night with a retainer is unlikely to cause significant teeth movement. However, if it has happened often, give our Sparta or Livingston, NJ office a call to make sure your teeth haven't shifted position.
The First 3-6 Months: Right after the braces come off, you'll want to wear your retainers 22 hours every day until your orthodontist clears you to switch to nighttime-only wear. The First 2 Years: After your orthodontist gives you the OK, you will only need to wear retainers while you sleep.
Ideally, retainers start showing results within 3-4 months, and you can see a slight difference in your smile.
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.
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.
Retainers are designed to keep your teeth in place, choosing to not wear it for a long period of time will cause some issues. It's fine to miss a day or two because your teeth won't move much during that time. If you go without it much longer than that, then your teeth will start to shift again.
Numerous people think that adult teeth won't change or move over their lifetime because they're permanent. This is false: adult teeth do and can shift over time, whether or not you had braces as a teenager or child. So yes, teeth move overnight, though the change might be imperceptible at first.
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.
How Long Will It Take for My Teeth to Shift? As mentioned, your teeth will shift slightly throughout your life. However, if you have had a tooth or teeth extraction, the surrounding teeth may shift to fill the space. There is no time length when this will occur, as it could happen over a matter of months or years.
If you skip or lose your retainer for a week, it's possible to have some small amount of relapse. Like we said earlier, teeth can move back to their original positions without a retainer to provide guidance and pressure.
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.
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.
However, there are times when this can do more harm than good! If your teeth have moved a substantial amount, wearing your retainer could put far too much pressure on them. This could damage the enamel, cause discomfort, and in the worst cases, could fracture your tooth roots by moving your teeth too quickly.
Are retainers supposed to be tight? Yes. Your retainer should feel a bit tight at first; this is normal. If your retainer doesn't seem to loosen up or fit more comfortably with time, this may indicate that your retainer does not fit properly.
If you go an entire month or more without wearing your retainer, your teeth will likely shift back to a point where you will no longer be able to fit your retainer in your mouth. At this point, you will potentially need to revisit an orthodontic treatment plan. This can include going back to braces or aligners.
Can I go 3 days without my retainer? Retainers are designed to keep your teeth in place, so going without wearing it for a long period of time may cause some issues. It's fine to miss a day or two, but if you go without it much longer than that, your teeth will start to shift.
If your retainer doesn't fit on one side of your mouth or feels so tight you have to wedge it into your mouth, your orthodontist may need to replace or adjust it to prevent your teeth from shifting back into their original positions.
The retainer's job is to simply keep teeth in their place, not to shift them back when they start to move. If you try to use your retainer to shift your teeth back into their position, it can be extremely uncomfortable and possibly cause damage to the teeth and jaw.
The best and most efficient way to treat an overbite is through orthodontic treatment. We recommend patients use braces and a retainer to correct their overbite.
While everyone's orthodontist may recommend something different, typically, it is recommended that you wear your retainer every night for the first year. After that, you can switch to 3-5 times a week. Night-time is the perfect time to pop it in as you won't be eating, drinking, talking, or seeing people in public.
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.
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.