It turns out that you might have shaken hands on a fantastic deal with your future self by saying yes to orthodontics. This study showed, 15 years after orthodontic treatment, that the cohort’s oral health in terms of decay, missing or filled teeth was better than the general population.  

Why can orthodontic treatment lead to great oral hygiene habits? 

There’s no doubt, when glued to braces or trapped in aligner trays for what seems like a million years, you learn to maintain a rigorous oral hygiene routine. Those habits could last a lifetime.  

Post orthodontic treatment, your teeth no longer feel clean without a going over from an interdental brush daily! Plus, this time for straight white teeth, you’ve kept up with that twice a day medical grade, alcohol free mouthwashing routine, too. Go you! 

You loved your new smile so much, you got on a roll and decided you wanted to go as naturally white and bright as you could, all the while maintaining tooth enamel. No abrasion cavities, but lots of enamel and whitening support for you! 

It’s never been easier to keep the good teeth times rolling with a subscription to VITIS medical grade whitening products:  

• Hydroxyapatite helps to restore tooth enamel with the very substance it’s made from 
• Teeth are polished and naturally white 
• Low abrasivity ensures teeth are protected 
• Stains? What stains?  

After all that time spent in orthodontic appliances, it was the very least your teeth deserved! Plus, it sorted out your tooth sensitivity. Bonus! 

You’ve got the improvements you wanted to your teeth. In the years following, it’s important to pay attention to the retention of those improvements. According to this study, a fixed retainer supports the functional improvements you’ve worked so hard for.  

Show your fixed retainer your gratitude and give it an extra brush up with a Monotip Brush after your general brushing.  

In addition, wearing your removable retainer needs to be your habit, too. In the battle against biofilm, the fancy pants name for the bacteria that will, given half a chance, take up residence on your retainer, you need to keep your retainer as squeaky clean as you keep your teeth.  

Retainer care is straight forward with VITIS Effervescent Cleaning Tablets. Keep it fresh and free from bad odours as part of your oral hygiene drill. Streptococcus mutans (the main bacterial culprit in tooth decay) won’t thank you for it, but your teeth will!  

In this study, 5-12 years after orthodontic treatment, people reported not just improved chewing and easier oral hygiene but also increased confidence in social and professional settings. Given that career wellbeing is believed to be the overarching dictator of wellbeing during our working lives, it’s not to be sniffed at that, having had orthodontic treatment, you might well feel more confident at work.  

And, for the rest of the time, all those social interactions that keep us feeling connected to the human race don’t seem to have come to any harm from having straighter teeth, in fact, the study suggests we’ll feel more in our element with our straighter teeth.  Hurrah for those gnashers! 

The study does go on to remind us that we need to consider how we guard against relapse. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, retainers are key. Make sure you keep up the retainer love! Get ahead and sort your supply of retainer love so that it’s one less thing to think about: subscribe to our Retainer Care Kit.  

Add the brightening factor with a Retainer Complete Care Kit, which includes not only retainer cleaning tablets, but VITIS Whitening Toothpaste and VITIS Whitening Mouthwash too. After care never got so nanotechnology!