During orthodontics, it’s imperative to wear retainers for half or a year after removing braces, preventing it from bouncing back. Without retainers, teeth will shift back to their previous position, which means all your efforts before have gone in vain. You’re not allowed to wear retainer again if the bounce-back have reached a certain degree.

    What will happen if you insist to wear retainers on after bounce-back?

    For one thing, it will do harm to your teeth, bring problems like tooth looseness or devitalization of dental pulp, though the internal teeth structure will remain good. For another, chances are that your retainer will be broken. You have to wear braces on again, taking you at least one more year, given a severe bounce-back. 

    Therefore, it’s of great significance to wear retainers both day and night following your orthodontist’s instructions, especially at the early stage. Over a period, you’re allowed to wear it only at night for about 6 month. A loose retainer serves as an indicator that orthodontic procedure is almost completed. You can wear the retainer once every two days or every week, but bear in mind to wear it for at least 20 hours every time. When it comes to cleaning retainers, you should use cool water instead of hot one to wash it, preventing it from deforming.

    Will teeth bounce back after orthodontic treatment?

    In fact, there will be a bounce-back more or less after orthodontics regardless of your age. The longer time you wear retainers, the less degree the bounce-back will be. Instead, if you often take off your retainers, there may be an obvious bounce-back. In addition, it’s necessary to control the orthodontic force during the treatment. With an large force, there will be serious resorption of tooth root, leading to tooth looseness after correction. 

    By and large, it’s best to seek orthodontics at the age of 15 when jawbone remains potential for growth and teeth move faster. With a good maintaining, there won’t be bounce-back after bone reaching its full growth. Adults are also allowed to seek orthodontics though their teeth will move slower. Anyway, it is your persistence that counts a lot during orthodontics. 

    To conclude, you have to wear retainers after the treatment under orthodontist’s instructions, trying to avoid or minimize the bounce-back. 

    Feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)