Wearing Retainers With Wisdom Teeth

Can You Wear Retainers With Wisdom Teeth?

At Sporting Smiles, our essix clear teeth retainers help prevent your teeth from shifting back to their natural state after braces or other orthodontic work. Our retainers cover the majority of your teeth, but we purposely do not include your wisdom teeth when crafting your custom retainers. Wearing a retainer with wisdom teeth doesn’t need to be tricky because we don’t include the molds of them in the retainers, and here’s why:

Your wisdom teeth do not fully come out of your gumline. 

When your wisdom teeth come in, your IQ score won’t increase, unfortunately. Wisdom teeth were originally used for the toughest of raw meats, but because the diets of humans have changed, we no longer require them as our jaw and mouths have adapted. You can expect your wisdom teeth to come in between the ages of 17-21, the same time that most people receive or are finishing up orthodontic work on their teeth to straighten them.

Our affordable online retainers do not cover wisdom teeth because they do not fully come out of your gumline. Sometimes they are only 1-2mm above the gumline. With a retainer for wisdom teeth, the plastic would sit on top of the teeth instead of snapping on like it would with the rest of the teeth. It creates an uncomfortable and loose fit in the back of your mouth when wearing a retainer. Retainers are easier to wear when teeth have an undercut. Wisdom teeth don’t often have undercuts, so it’s pointless to include wisdom teeth with a retainer.

It’s not comfortable

We’re all about comfort with Sporting Smiles! That’s why our essix-plus retainers are our No. 1 selling product but retainers and wisdom teeth are an uncomfortable mix. Wearing a retainer with wisdom teeth can result in the user gagging because of how far back the retainer is in the mouth. To properly cover the wisdom teeth, a retainer would have to reach the furthest parts of your mouth. That’s not comfortable, and the retainer would sit atop the wisdom teeth instead of snapping on. Sporting Smiles will even take into consideration whether covering the second molars with a retainer is necessary to make the most comfortable teeth retainer.

Can You Straighten Your Wisdom Teeth

People wonder about the need to straighten your wisdom teeth when seeking orthodontic work to straighten your smile. Wisdom teeth are barely visible over the gums and almost entirely hidden when you smile. There’s no point in straightening your wisdom teeth even if you could. When you do receive teeth-straightening treatments, it’s likely that your back teeth including your molars are not involved. If you have your wisdom teeth still, you won’t need to worry about the retainer covering them to keep them “straight” because they weren’t straightened, to begin with.

Wearing A Retainer After Wisdom Teeth Removal 

Not everyone gets their wisdom teeth, and not everyone who gets them receives them when they are young. Some people have their wisdom teeth pop in later in life. When this happens, they’ve likely completed their orthodontic work to achieve straight smiles. If a retainer was made to include wisdom teeth and then the user elected to have their wisdom teeth removed, the retainer would become useless. The retainer would no longer fit due to the removal of wisdom teeth. If you were wearing a retainer that included wisdom teeth, you’d need it to be replaced or retrimmed. The old one is useless and have uncomfortable plastic in the back of your mouth. That’s why Sporting Smiles doesn’t include wisdom teeth in retainers. Wearing a retainer after wisdom teeth surgery is the same as it was before having them removed. The retainer doesn’t affect the wisdom teeth!

Wisdom Teeth Are Unpredictable 

Think of wisdom teeth as volcanos. They are spontaneous, unpredictable and you can’t quite predict when they will be finished erupting. You might have one set that is finished coming in, but another set might take another year or two to fully stop. Some people never get their wisdom teeth! If you received a retainer that included wisdom teeth it would quickly become useless after a few months due to the new shifts in your wisdom teeth. If you think going to the dentist is annoying, imagine going every few months for a new retainer to fit your wisdom teeth! That’s why Sporting Smiles makes it easy with our online affordable replacement retainers. We don’t include your wisdom teeth in our retainers. You can order a custom set of clear plastic retainers online without ever having to leave your home or visit the dentist!