“Teeth moving after retainers?”
I have never not worn my retainers every night. I wore them throughout the day as well after I first had my braces removed about 4-5 years ago. However, I have a tooth gap between my front teeth despite all this. I told my orthodontist about it and he said he would fix it with new retainers but it's been a year now since wearing them and nothing has changed yet. I'm considering seeing a different ortho, my question is, what should I ask for when seeing a different ortho? New retainers? Invisalign?
8 Answers
Dentist|OrthodonticsandDentofacialOrthopedicsDentist
This is a common occurrence when the original diagnosis was not done properly. Conventional orthodontists tend to look at the teeth but ignore the other supporting structures like the tongue, cheek muscles and nasal breathing. Most of us have crooked teeth because our jaws did not grow enough horizontally and or facially andor we have dysfunctional habits. So the initial treatment should be expansion, resolution of any tongue habits like tongue thrust or tongue tie then aligners. After aligners you should have an occlusal equilibration to ensure that all teeth are hitting evenly. Many times the second molars are left out of treatment and this often leads to eventual movement of teeth. Its important to note if there is any grinding or acid erosion as this also changes the shape of teeth. if you get the structures correct then you should never have to wear retainers once teeth are aligned. I recommend that you seek out a functional airway orthodontist. try this site httpsairwayhealthsolutions.comlocator
Its not unusual for gaps to come back if you havent worn your retainers. Your orthodontist should consider a permanent retainer behind your upper front teeth if there is room. You may alternatively want to consider veneers to close the space and not have to worry about it coming back.
You should tell everything you concern about it and your orthodontist will give you the treatment options
i would recommend aligners (invisalign or 3m)
Retainers typically only retain but can be made to apply some pressure to the teeth. As far as Invisalign or regular braces, You might ask for a bar retainer next time. They hold well. Some teeth are very stubborn and want to move back. Good luck.
Hello,
It is hard to tell without doing an exam. But if the gap has not closed after wearing the retainers for the duration that you have, you will likely need new orthodontic treatment. Invisalign usually works well in these cases. Good luck!
It is hard to tell without doing an exam. But if the gap has not closed after wearing the retainers for the duration that you have, you will likely need new orthodontic treatment. Invisalign usually works well in these cases. Good luck!
The question you should ask your original orthodontist is if you need a frenectomy which is the removal of a thick fibrous attachment of tissue going between your front teeth that keeps them apart, but you want the space closed before the frenectomy so that it heals closed other wise scar tissue between the teeth formed during healing can act like the removed frenum.
Thank you for contacting me regarding your question, great question by the way. Although braces might have been the traditional way to straighten teeth, teeth have a memory and will shift and move without a permanent solution like lingual bar on 4 or more teeth. There are times that a second phase of ortho needs to take place for tweaking. If you do not want to take the route of ortho treatment again, there are other ways of closing the gaps to a permanent solution in which you may be more satisfied.
Best Regards,
Dr. Mary Collier, DDS
Best Regards,
Dr. Mary Collier, DDS
