After getting your braces or aligners off, your dentist will craft a retainer. Just when you thought you were done with all the hard work of creating that perfect smile by shifting your teeth, he tells you that you need to wear the retainer now. How long should you wear the retainer, and what’s the purpose? We’re discussing all of that in this article.
The most crucial time to wear a retainer is when your braces or aligners immediately come off. Your teeth are most susceptible to shifting during the first few months of being unprotected. You’ll want to wear the retainer as much as possible during this time period, but especially when you sleep. Sleeping with a retainer gives you the maximum protection against teeth shifting.
Teeth have an incredible feature that many people are unaware of. This feature is called elastic memory, and it means that your teeth will always try to shift back to their natural position after they’ve been professionally shifted by your dentist through braces or aligners. They are most active in shifting back to their natural positions within the first year of post-braces or aligners, but regardless of how much time has passed, they will always try. It could be two years, ten years, or 20 years. Without the protection of a retainer, your teeth will shift back. It’s a matter of when, not if.
Back to the original question of how long you should wear your retainer? Well, it’s a lifelong commitment after aligners or braces. You’ll need to wear your retainer for the rest of your life while you sleep. It’s the only guarantee that your teeth will be protected against shifting. If you don’t wear a retainer, your teeth will shift back, erasing all that time, money, and effort you spent achieving that perfect smile.
The best thing to do is to get into the routine of wearing your retainer while you sleep. This will give you the most protection, and it won’t be a hassle. All you need to do is put it in right before bed, and the time spent wearing it while you sleep will be enough for your teeth to be tricked into staying in place.
If you have lost your retainer or need a new one because yours is cracked or too gross to wear, you’ll need to get a replacement as soon as possible to prevent any micro shifting. SportingSmiles has been crafting premium retainers since 2009 for over one million people. With SportingSmiles, there is no need to leave the comfort and safety of your home.
Replace your lost, cracked, gross, and damaged dental retainers with a new one from SportingSmiles. Prevent your teeth from shifting using the most durable clear retainers available. Take your own impression at home and save hundreds over going to the dentist. Impression kit included.
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To receive retainers from SportingSmiles, you’ll place an order online and receive the patented impression kit to take teeth impressions before shipping them back to the SportingSmiles lab, where your retainers will be crafted. If you already have the physical molds of your teeth from your dentist or a digital scan of your teeth, you may use either of those to receive replacement retainers from SportingSmiles. Ask your dentist for either of them for you to use, as they should be free, and you can do a lot with them!
Now that you know where to get retainers, the answer to how long you need to wear your retainer is easy. It’s a life-long commitment. Every night, you should be wearing your retainers while you sleep. If you’re getting eight hours of sleep a night, you’re also getting eight hours of protection from teeth shifting. This is a great amount of time to keep your teeth in place and prevent any micro shifting.
