Why Wearing Retainers is Essential
How Your Teeth Moved in Orthodontic Treatment Could Be Their Same Ticket to Move Back!
When your teeth were heading towards Alignment City, it was an exciting time. You watched in awe at how teeth move through bone. You thanked goodness they did – hello, fabulous smile!
You were in the glory days when Laws of Physics and Biology facilitated your teeth glow-up. Special mentions also go to your orthodontist who trained for years for the privilege of shaping up your smile!
You supplied motivation, patience and got, well, brushy with a toothbrush three times a day. The question, what do retainers do wasn’t in your vocabulary.
At the end of orthodontic treatment, you do need to know: What do retainers do?
But there was always going to be a catch ...
The simple answer: orthodontic retainers stop your teeth moving back after teeth straightening.
You’ll need at least one type of orthodontic retainer:
A fixed retainer: a short, thin wire glued to the back of your front teeth. You’ll soon forget it's there. This study confirmed the effectiveness of fixed retainers.
A removeable retainer: worn while you sleep. Your teeth nestle in it night after night, so make sure you show it some medical grade VITIS Retainer Care love and clean it every morning.
You’ll need to know how to clean retainers
Oral Hygiene's crucial
Retainer hygiene must be part of your oral hygiene routine
For your fixed retainer, keep a Monotip Brush handy and replace it regularly to keep this bad boy up to scratch with plaque-free retaining duties!
Keep your removeable retainer spick and span with VITIS Effervescent Cleaning Tablets. Subscribing to a Retainer Care Kit ensures you’ve got exactly what you need when you wake and take your retainer out. We do a purpose made soaking tray so that your retainer can happily take its soak after you’ve given it a quick brush. No toothpaste, it scratches the plastic!
How long do you have to wear a retainer?
oral care for life
Indefinitely ... it’s often a lifelong commitment. A systematic review comparing patients with and without retainers showed that retainer wear dramatically reduces relapse risk.
... Why is it essential to wear retainers after teeth straightening treatment?
We know what you're thinking! Let Healthy Smile Pharmacy answer your question ...
Once you’re done with straightening, you’re elated. There’s dancing, celebration, maybe even a small festival in your honour – ok, maybe not, but certainly you and your new smile deserve their moment.
Teeth don’t just move one way. Without retainers, they can move back. No one wants the dreaded regression after the effort of orthodontics.
Our biology can work against us
- Your periodontal ligament may have some ‘memory’ and it may want to move your teeth back from where they came.
- We keep growing even in our early 20s, shifting our teeth alignment.
- Grinding your teeth at night can cause small movements over time in your teeth.
- Even having tight lips can push your teeth into a different position again. Yikes!
Oral hygiene needs to be lifelong – just like your relationship with retainers
You're in this for the long haul
- Not looking after teeth and gums compromises the stability of your teeth. Plus, clear plastic retainers can harbour bacteria that cause tooth decay – yikes! Luckily, if you move to our VITIS Retainer Complete Care Kit, you’ll be using the power of nanotechnology hydroxyapatite to keep your teeth protected, polished and brightened and you’re giving your tooth enamel back the very thing it’s made from. And you’ll be medical grade soaking your retainer, too!
- Make using interdental brushes a lifetime commitment, too. Gum problems mean the future of your teeth is less secure. Guard against that!
How do teeth move during orthodontic straightening and why does this mean they could move back?
awesome biology
Teeth aren’t fused to your jawbone. Instead, they’re suspended there by the periodontal ligament that allows for some cushioned movement. It’s why all teeth waggle a little bit – but it doesn’t mean they’re falling out!
Putting continuous pressure on this ligament is how your orthodontist worked their magic. The pressure remodels bone by encouraging specialised cells to swing into action. Osteoclasts encourage bone to reabsorb, and osteoblasts encourage bone to form.
The thing is, though, now you know that it doesn’t have to be an orthodontic appliance that exerts pressure on your teeth causing them to move.
It’s why we need to learn to love our retainers and commit to indefinite nighttime wear and their orthodontic grade aftercare.
At Healthy Smile Pharmacy, we here to help you show your retainer some VITIS medical grade love!
