Many patients often ask us how long they should continue to wear a retainer following their orthodontic treatment. As your trusted orthodontist office in Flower Mound, TX, we are here to provide the answers to any questions you might have about undergoing orthodontic treatment. There is often a misconception that retainers only have to been worn for a few years following treatment. Here are three good reasons to continue wearing your retainers for the rest of your life:
Your Teeth Will Shift.
Undergoing orthodontic treatment to straighten your smile is often an effort that takes many months or even years to accomplish. It takes time to convince your teeth to move naturally into a straighter, more desirable position. However, just because your orthodontic treatment was able to get your teeth into a straighter position doesn’t mean that this will be permanent. Your teeth will begin to shift back into their more natural position over time if not encouraged to remain aligned with a retainer. A retainer is an oral appliance that can either be removable or fixed depending on the type that you get. Flower Mound orthodontist Dr. Wayne L. Sankey will evaluate your teeth and jaw to determine if removable or permanent retainers are right for you. Regardless of what kind of retainer you get, you should commit yourself to wearing one as much as possible to avoid orthodontic relapse.
Money & Time Wasted.
After undergoing orthodontic treatment, the last thing you want to hear is that you once again need braces. However, if you do not wear a retainer and your teeth shift back into their natural position, you will once again need orthodontic treatment to get them back to their straighter position. Additionally, it’s important to remember that factors such as teeth grinding, chewing, and growth can encourage orthodontic relapse. Our team at Flower Mound Orthodontics offers comprehensive solutions and in-depth oral exams to correct an orthodontic relapse. We want to help you avoid wasting time and money on orthodontic care. This is why we encourage patients to wear their retainers so that they do not wind up needing additional treatment.
Retainers 4 Life
We know you’ve invested a lot in your smile, and we want to honor your investment by making it as easy as possible to maintain the smile we created together. Retainers 4 Life is our in-house retainer program that helps you maintain properly fitting retainers without ever having to pay full price again. This program isn’t just for patients that we’ve treated in our office. If you’ve received orthodontic care before at another office, we are happy to help you via this program. With the Retainers 4 Life Program, patients have the opportunity to replace their retainers as needed. We hope that this encourages them to continue wearing retainers and maintain their best smile. Our team can work with you to design a custom retainer to fit comfortably and securely over your teeth. If you are interested in learning more about Retainers 4 Life, please contact us today.