After spending months wearing your Invisalign® aligners to gain the beautiful smile you dreamed of, you might have concerns about how to keep your perfectly aligned teeth straight.
When you complete your last set of Invisalign trays, we provide you with a customized retainer to hold your teeth in place. This oral device should prevent your teeth from moving back to their previous position.
Though you might wear your retainer as advised, your teeth can still experience shifting for various reasons.
Here at K Street Dental & Orthodontic Group, our dental team has some tips on how to help you avoid an orthodontic relapse. But if your teeth do begin to shift, we can help.
Your customized retainer fits directly on your teeth to hold them in place and keep your teeth straight. But if you don’t follow our guidelines and wear it as prescribed, your teeth can begin to move back into their previous position.
Failing to wear your retainer isn’t the only reason your teeth may move. Other reasons include:
As you get older, your teeth naturally shift because your enamel starts to wear thin, which can contribute to their movement. The shape of your jaw changes, too, which can cause your teeth to slightly push into a new placement.
Teeth grinding can put strain on your teeth that can change your bite and possibly cause your teeth to become misaligned.
You spend a great deal of time putting pressure on your teeth. In a 24-hour period, you talk, eat, sneeze, cough, and clear your throat, using your tongue, which pushes against your teeth. These minor stressors can cause your teeth to become misaligned.
If you suffer tooth loss from tooth decay or periodontal disease, your surrounding teeth can begin to shift toward the empty space. That’s why oral hygiene and routine visits to our practice are so important — to provide preventive maintenance.
If you notice that your teeth are shifting, give us a call. We can evaluate the root cause of your problem and give you tips on how to correct it, or we can solve your problem with additional orthodontic care.
If your removable retainer isn’t holding your teeth in place, we have the expertise to help determine the right solution for you.
Developing a new Invisalign plan may be the answer. The good news is you get the same benefits as your original treatment — the convenience of being able to remove the aligners and no one will notice you’re wearing them.
In addition, the time it takes to shift your teeth back into alignment shouldn’t take nearly as long as the first time. It’s basically a touch-up service.
If you have concerns that your teeth might shift after wearing Invisalign, you have another option — a permanent retainer to help you maintain your beautiful smile. Just know that you would need to come in to see us for regular maintenance.
If you’ve had orthodontic work and notice that your teeth are starting to relapse, give us a call at our office in Washington, DC, or book an appointment online today.
