Wear Your Retainers So You Can Always Smile Confidently After Houston Braces

You’re about to complete your Houston braces treatment, so you must be super excited to show off your new, beautiful smile after wearing braces for the last couple of years! However, a common misconception is that once the braces are off, that’s it and no more work needs to be done. The truth is, once your braces are off, you still have to wear retainers for a number of reasons.

Your Teeth Can Still Shift After Braces

As adults, your teeth will have a habit of trying to shift back to the malocclusion you experienced prior to braces. This is because the wires and brackets are off and no longer holding your teeth in place. For kids who wear our Houston braces, as they grow, so do their jaws, which means their teeth will tend to shift as well. We have had some patients question why they had to undergo braces treatment just for their teeth to shift again, but as long as you wear your retainers, your teeth will remain properly aligned.

Our South Houston dentist often recommends our patients wear their retainers day and night for about a year, but how long you wear them will also depend on your particular case. You should take your retainers off when you eat and brush your teeth, but it’s imperative that you wear them at all other times. This will ensure that as your teeth settle into the soft tissues in your mouth and their new position along your jaw, they won’t become easily misaligned again.

Wearing Your Retainers Protects Your Investment In Houston Braces

Another reason to wear your retainers after completing your braces treatment is so that you can protect your investment. As we age, our teeth will naturally try to shift, but constantly wearing retainers for a year, and then transitioning to wearing them on most nights will make a big difference in the longevity of your beautifully aligned smile. If you are really responsible with your retainers, you may get to enjoy beautiful, straight teeth for the rest of your life.

Retainers After Houston Braces at Centra Dental

As you come close to the end of your treatment, our South Houston dentists will take impressions of your now-straight teeth so that we can fully customize your retainers to your new smile. If you have just received your retainers but feel like they don't fit well, resulting in a lot of discomfort, please contact us so we can make adjustments to ensure you're comfortable wearing them.