If at any point during your orthodontic treatment you have concerns about how it is progressing, don't hesitate to speak with your orthodontist or a member of the orthodontic team. Their goal is the same as yours – a beautiful, healthy smile that will last a lifetime!
The best thing to do when you first notice your teeth are not straight after braces is to talk to your orthodontist about the treatment goals and what work was required. Though not typical, some patients may have had their braces removed too early, and you might have to resume your treatment.
In short, braces can result in a properly functioning smile, and give patients who have been embarrassed by crooked or crowded teeth a reason to grin broadly. While most people are thrilled with the results braces provided, others may continue on to seek their perfect smile though additional work.
Flared teeth after braces usually occur because the patient doesn't wear their retainer properly. Essentially, flared teeth happen because the teeth don't have enough room to shift from side to side, so they shift upward and outward instead.
Typically, the lateral incisors or the teeth next to your front teeth are the most challenging to move with Invisalign aligners and traditional braces. Invisalign trays have to be switched out every couple of weeks during the treatment period to accommodate moving teeth. Some teeth move faster than others.
Your smile will look different – While this may seem obvious, it's often a shock for people how straight and different their smile looks once braces are off. Remember, not only do braces help to straighten teeth, but they also work to align the jaw, which can change how you smile and the shape of your smile.
It takes at least six months after the braces come off for the bone to solidify with the teeth in the new position. After that you can use the retainers as a weekly check appliance to see if the teeth remain in place. The retainer is worn once a week at night to see if it still fits.
Many braces and clear aligner patients begin to feel their teeth tighten up within a few days to a few weeks. Your wiggly tooth sensation is why it's SO important to wear a retainer after your braces or clear aligner trays are done, especially while the teeth are still settling into their healthy position.
But you should only feel the discomfort immediately after your orthodontist places or adjusts your braces or wires. The discomfort typically disappears within four days, and braces pain rarely lasts longer than a week. When you first get braces, it's also common to feel some pain in your cheeks for about a week.
It is one of your longer appointments. Your orthodontist will take all the braces off, then polish your teeth to make sure they are really clean and all the special glue that was used to put the braces on your teeth is gone.
If your teeth feel loose, it is likely due to one of three main causes: gum disease, trauma or bruxism. Of these, gum disease is the most common cause. Gum disease occurs when pockets of bacteria are created between the tooth and the gums, causing them to recede and make the tooth loose.
While this can be frustrating, it's normal for your teeth to shift a small amount after finishing orthodontic treatment. But certain factors can cause your teeth to move more. Some oral habits, an accident, or removing braces too early can make you more prone to teeth shifting after braces.
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.
If you have minor dental issues, your dentist will initially suggest wearing retainers full-time for 2-3 months. But you might have to wear your retainers for over 6 months if you have severe dental problems. However, the good news is that you do not have to wear your retainers forever.
Your retainers ensure that your teeth stay in the right place. Retainers keep your smile in place when active treatment is complete. Adults need to wear their retainers for life, but adolescents may be able to stop wearing them after about 10 years.
While this method of teeth straightening isn't guaranteed to work, retainers are used at times for making very small corrections, which is why they can also be used if your teeth have moved to an abnormal position after the original appliance is taken out.
So, Will You Have to Wear Your Retainer Forever? In short, the answer is yes. Previously, patients were told they only had to wear the retainer for a year or two, but advancements in the field of orthodontics have proven that optimal results rest heavily on lifelong wear.
For teens and other age groups, the most vulnerable teeth to cavities and decay are those in the back of your mouth. Known as molars or premolars, this category includes wisdom teeth—if you keep them in, that is.
Do bottom teeth move faster than the top teeth with braces? Not necessarily. In general, how fast your teeth move with braces is different for everyone and depends on the treatment type and the severity and individual characteristics of a patient's malocclusion.
The most commonly fractured teeth are the mandibular molars,[8,9,10,11] perhaps due to pointy, protruding maxillary molar palatal cusps[12] occluding powerfully into the mandibular molar central grooves.
As you get older, your jaw muscles, ligaments, tissues, and fibers surrounding your teeth can weaken. As a result, your teeth can loosen and shift. In some cases, changes to your facial features caused by age can place pressure on your teeth, pushing them inward.
A very common reason for bite problems and a funny feeling when you chew is misalignment. When teeth are not organized in a fashion in which they fit together like puzzle pieces, they can scrape each other, hit against each other, and require you to shift your mouth into new positions to chew.
Mix a tablespoon of salt in 6 ounces of warm water and swish vigorously around in your mouth. Continue this at least for a minute before you rinse, spit and repeat. This will draw out all that hidden bacteria effectively. Gradually, your gums will begin to strengthen and so will the loose tooth.