Going to the dentist is typically at the bottom of the list for many people in terms of enjoyment. It can be painful and unpleasant. Even routine cleanings can take a lot out of you. If you’ve had braces or aligners, you’ll know that there is an adjustment period when it comes to sensitivity. For the first few weeks, your teeth might be a little sore as they are slowly shifted. After you complete your braces or aligners, your dentist will craft you a retainer. Is wearing a retainer painful or uncomfortable? Let’s discuss.
Retainers are different from aligners even though they make look very similiar. A premium retainer is meant to keep your teeth in their exact position. No shifting is involved; in fact, they are crafted to prevent any shifting. You wear these at night to maintain that perfect smile that braces and aligners gave you. They should snap snuggly onto your teeth, and you’ll be able to sleep peacefully and comfortably through the night, but there are times when retainers can hurt.
If you are wearing retainers for the first time, your teeth may be sensitive. After being shifted by braces or aligners, your teeth may be a little sore after the final treatments. This has nothing to do with your retainers; it’s more of a post-treatment soreness. It is not uncommon for your teeth to be a little sensitive after your braces or aligners come off.
Aside from being new to wearing a retainer, there are other reasons why your retainer may hurt your teeth or may feel uncomfortable. If you’ve gone a few months, weeks, or even days without wearing a retainer, your teeth may have begun to shift back to their natural position. Sometimes people lose their retainer or simply forget to wear it. When this happens, your teeth will start to return to their natural position. If you put your retainer back on after a while, it may feel tight or even hurt your teeth. If it hurts your teeth, you need to remove it immediately. If you continue to wear it, you may damage the nerves of your teeth, resulting in serious oral surgery to correct it, and that can be very costly.
One of the other ways a retainer may be uncomfortable is if it is cracked. If there’s a crack in your retainer, it loses the protection it gives of keeping your teeth in place. A cracked retainer is a useless one, and you’ll need to get it replaced. Sometimes the plastic may irritate your gums, especially if it is sticking out from being cracked.
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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If you have a cracked or gross retainer, you’ll need to replace it as soon as possible. You could make an appointment with your dentist, but that often takes weeks to get in, and you’ll have to take time out of your busy schedule to go there. There is an online option with SportingSmiles. Having served over one million people since 2009 with replacement retainers, SportingSmiles is the number one online provider for retainers.
You can receive retainers all from the comfort of your home by either using the patented impression kit to make impressions of your teeth before sending them in to the SportingSmiles lab, or if you have the physical molds of your teeth or a digital scan, both of which you can typically get for free from the dentist, you can use those too. Getting retainers from SportingSmiles will typically save you hundreds of dollars.
It’s an easy process, and you’ll be able to reorder with SportingSmiles whenever you need new retainers. Reorders come with even bigger discounts, or if you want a subscription service, SportingSmiles offers that too. If your retainer is uncomfortable, maybe it’s time for a new one?
