Do You Need to Wear a Retainer Indefinitely Post-Invisalign® Treatment?

Invisalign® near you offers ease, comfort, and discretion, traits that make the aligners stand out. Most adults and teenagers who don’t fancy metal wires in their mouths always gravitate towards Invisalign in Newton Surrey.

Invisalign is also efficient and can trade blow for blow with metal braces when correcting orthodontic issues. Treatment time is nearly the same in both cases, but no case is the same, so you can expect to wear Invisalign near you for 6 to 24 months.

However, what’s the next step when you are through with your treatment? Is it a must that you get a retainer from our dentist in Newton Surrey? And if so, will you wear the retainer for the rest of your days? If these are your concerns, read on to learn more about retainers.

Is a Retainer Really Necessary?

Irrespective of the orthodontic treatment you choose, wearing a retainer is inevitable. Once your treatment is done, it is only natural for you not to want to wear any other appliance. Believe it or not, we are not trying to torture you! However, our dentist Newton Surrey recommends that you wear a retainer after you have completed your invisalign surrey treatment.

If you choose to ignore getting a retainer, then the smile you worked so hard to possess will not be there forever. This is because your teeth will move back to their original positions.

Your teeth are anchored in your jawbones. So, when you wear Invisalign aligners or braces, they gently apply pressure to your teeth that push your teeth to the new positions. The tooth will begin to shift into the new position only after the bone softens or disappears, a process known as resorption.

Once your teeth are in their suitable positions, new bone will be deposited around the teeth to help them stabilize. The new bone will be deposited for close to 12 months. During this period, you will need to wear your retainer to help keep the teeth in place as the new bone is being deposited.

Will Your Teeth Move If Skip Wearing Retainers?

When you undergo Invisalign treatment, the jawbone will soften to allow the movement of your teeth to the desired positions. Therefore, the gums, bones, and surrounding tissues responsible for holding your teeth in place have become weak and might not hold your teeth in place. Plus, the ligaments and other tissue are elastic and are not used to their new positions just yet.

This means that if you miss wearing the retainer, your teeth will not remain in their new positions while the new bone is depositing. Besides this, missing to wear retainers may also cause:

• Your teeth to return to their misaligned state
• Incomplete remodeling of the remaining jaw bone and tooth socket

It might also be an utter waste of your time and finances.

How Often Should You Wear Your Retainer After Treatment?

In most cases, if you have used Invisalign aligners, you might get Vivera® retainers. These are durable, thermoplastic retainers that resemble the aligners. They are also customized to fit your bite so that they can be comfortable and strong.

So when you receive your retainers, you will need to wear them according to a definite schedule that looks like this:

• 12 to 22 hours for the initial three to six months after completing the treatment
• Nighttime only after six months to the next 12 months and beyond
• Three to five times each week after a year and beyond

The timetable may vary depending on your age and the complexity of your original orthodontic issue.

As mentioned earlier, new bone will usually deposit between nine and 12 months. So, you might be contemplating why you should wear the retainers after a year. The reason is simple. Your teeth will keep on shifting forward and inward as you get older. Therefore, our dentist recommends that you wear the retainers three to five times each week indefinitely to ensure that your teeth don’t shift.

Remember that teeth move slowly and gradually, so they will not revert to their original positions because you forgot to wear them for a day.

If you wish to know more about retainers, contact our dentist at King George Dental Centre to schedule an appointment.