Hooray! Congratulations! You got your braces off today and your wondering…Now What?

There is a critical part to orthodontic treatment called retention, where an upper and lower retainer is worn to stabilize the teeth. As a patient you have invested your time, efforts and finances, which is what the retainers are there to protect.

To put it simply: the gum tissue has a “strong memory” that, if not stabilized post-treatment, could possibly cause the teeth to shift out of alignment.

At our Bellevue orthodontic office we advise our patient’s to wear the retainers full time for the first year after the removal of the braces. By full time wear we mean all day and all night, only removing the retainers to brush and eat. At the one year anniversary mark of having the braces off, patients have the option to go to nighttime wear only. Once the second year anniversary approaches we advise our patients to wear the retainers 3-4 nights per week, eventually getting to the point of wearing them a night or two per week to maintain that beautiful smile. *Unless otherwise instructed by Dr. Carr.  

Many assume after a year or two of consistent retainer wear the teeth are stable enough to discard the retainers and forget about them forever. This is untrue because many things can cause the teeth to shift: a high surface area from a restoration or filling, periodontal issues and as we age in general are all factors that can contribute to misalignment of the teeth. This can be avoided by retention with upper and lower retainers.

As you can see, wearing the retainers is a lifetime of dedication to maintain a confident, gorgeous smile!