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Do You Really Need a Retainer Forever? What Happens If You Stop · SmileMoreDentistry with Mariliza LaCap, DDS

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you finished Invisalign or Braces and somebody told you that you need to wear a retainer forever, there is a chance you thought, seriously, forever?
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because once your teeth are straight, it feels like the job should be done.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is you can stop wearing your retainer and think everything is completely fine for a long time.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And by the time you realize it isn't fine anymore, you might have undone all that work you did in the first place.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I've been a dentist for 35 years and I've seen over 15,000 patients.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to show you what usually happens when people stop wearing their retainers, how to tell if your teeth have already started moving, and what you can do about it if yours has been sitting in a drawer for months or even years.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: What actually happens when you stop wearing it?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: For a lot of people, nothing dramatic happens at first.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: You stop wearing the retainer for a few nights, maybe because you forgot it on a trip or you fell asleep without putting it in, and your teeth still look exactly the same.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you miss a few more nights, then maybe a week.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And because nothing obvious happened, you start thinking, maybe I don't really need this anymore.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: That is how a lot of people stop wearing retainers.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: They do not usually make some big decision that they're finished forever.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: They just start wearing it less and less because everything still looks fine.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is that teeth can continue to shift over time, and that movement may be small enough in the beginning that you do not notice it in the mirror.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe one lower front tooth starts turning slightly, a little crowding begins to come back, or a space that used to be closed starts opening again.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the first time you realize anything has changed is when you pull that retainer out of the drawer months later, put it in and think, oh wow, this is a lot tighter than I remember.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Your teeth are no longer sitting exactly where they were when that retainer was made.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And once you realize your teeth really can start moving again, the obvious question is why?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: You already spend months getting them into the right position, so why don't they just stay there?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Why do they move after all that work?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because teeth are not nailed into your jaw.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: When we move teeth with braces or invisalign, we're changing their position in the bone.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the tissue around those teeth have to adapt to where we move them.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: A retainer helps hold them in that new position while everything settles.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: But even years later, your mouth is constantly changing.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your bite changes over time, your face changes, and the pressure from chewing, your tongue and your lips are still acting on those teeth every day.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: So there's never really a point where I can say, okay, those teeth are now permanently frozen in exactly this position forever.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I could.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: It would make orthodontics and invisalign a lot easier.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: That is why retainers matter.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: They are not doing the work of moving your teeth.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: They are protecting the position you already spent all that time creating.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Which brings us back to the part nobody likes hearing.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: If your teeth can keep moving throughout life, does that really mean you have to wear a retainer forever?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you really have to wear it forever?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Here is where I think people hear the word forever and imagine something worse than what we actually mean.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Forever does not necessarily mean you are going to wear it 22 hours a day for the rest of your life.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right after orthodontic treatment, you may be told to wear it much more often.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Then, depending on your case and your dentist or orthodonastis' instruction, many people eventually move to nighttime wear.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: The important part is that there is still some form of long-term retention because if you stop completely, you are giving the teeth the opportunity to move again.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to say, people will spend thousands of dollars and a year or more straightening their teeth and then get annoyed at the little piece of plastic that is trying to protect all of that work.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Please wear the thing.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: You already did the hard part.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are watching this and your retainer has already been sitting in a drawer for six months or six years, the question is not what you should have done.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: The question is what you should do now.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you already stopped, go find your retainer.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: If your retainer has been sitting in a drawer for six months, a year, maybe longer, here is the first thing I want you to do.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Go find it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Clean it properly and see how it fits.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: If it goes in normally and feels about this way you remember, that is a good sign.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: If it feels noticeably tighter, your teeth may have moved some.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if it will not see it all the way, if you have to force it in and it feels completely wrong, do not keep pushing harder and assume you can make the teeth go back yourself.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: That is where I want somebody to look at what you actually moved.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the change is very small, and sometimes a couple of teeth have shifted more than you realize or your bite is no longer sitting exactly the way it did when the retainer was made.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: How far those teeth have moved is what determines whether you simply need a new retainer or whether you need some orthodontic correction to move them back.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And what happens when you put that old retainer back in can tell you a lot because there's a big difference between one that feels a little snug and one that no longer fits your teeth at all.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if you had Invisalign or Braces in the past, stopped wearing your retainer, and now you're noticing that your teeth has shifted, our team can take a look and tell you how much movement has actually occurred.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people assume they're looking at another year of treatment when the correction may be much smaller than that.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're in New York or New Jersey and you want help figuring out what your options are, you can contact one of our offices through the link in the description below.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Does a tight retainer mean you have to do Invisalign again?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not automatically.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where people panic.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: They put the old retainer in, it feels tight, and immediately they think, oh my god, I ruined everything, I need braces again.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: If the movement is minor, your dentist or orthodontist may recommend a new retainer, an adjustment, or a small amount of correction depending on what has changed.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: If the teeth have moved more significantly, then yes, you may need clearer liners or another round of orthodontic treatment to put them back where you want them.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: But that does not mean everybody who forgets a retainer for a while has to start over from the beginning.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The bigger point is that the longer those teeth are allowed to keep moving, the bigger the correction may become.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: So if you know your retainer stopped fitting six months ago, I would much rather you deal with it now than wait another two years and see how far the teeth go.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there is another reason people stop wearing retainers that has nothing to do with forgetting them.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Some people absolutely hate the one they were given.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: What if you hate your retainer?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it feels bulky, maybe they grind through it, or maybe they keep losing the thing.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: There are different kinds of retainers, and depending on your mouth, one type may make more sense than another.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: A clear removable retainer looks a lot like an Invisalign tray.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is discreet and easy to wear, but you do have to remember to put it on and you can lose it.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: There are also more traditional removable retainers with acrylic and a wire.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Some people prefer those, and in certain cases, your orthodontists may recommend them based on how they want to hold the teeth.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Then there are fixed retainers, which are the little wires bonded behind your teeth.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: The advantage is obvious because you cannot forget to put it in.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is already attached to you.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: But cleaning becomes more important because plaque and food can collect around that wire and you have to be able to floss and clean around it properly.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Fixed retainers can also come loose, and sometimes only one little section detaches so that the wire still looks like it's there, even though one tooth is no longer being held the way it was supposed to be.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is why I want those checked regularly too.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a retainer you absolutely hate, talk to your dentist or orthodontist about whether there is another reasonable option for you.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: What I do not want is for the answer to be, I hate this one, so I am just going to wear nothing.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you stopped because you forgot, because it stopped fitting, or because you simply hated wearing it, the next step is pretty simple.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: So what should you do tonight?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you are currently wearing your retainer the way you were told, keep doing it.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you stopped recently, go find it and see how it fits.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: If it fits normally, get back into the habit and ask your dentist or orthodontist what wear schedule makes sense for you now.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: If it feels dramatically tighter, does not see it all the way, is broken, or your teeth have clearly moved, have somebody look at it before you start forcing it into your teeth every night.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you lost the retainer completely, do not wait until you can see your teeth moving before you replace it.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: That little piece of plastic, it's much cheaper and much easier than another round of orthodontic treatment.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Look, you already spent the money and the time to get your teeth where you wanted them.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the retainer is simply what helps you keep them there.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: So do you really need a retainer forever?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you want your teeth to stay as close as possible to the position you worked so hard to get them into, you should expect some form of long-term retainer wear.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: That may eventually be as simple as wearing it at night, according to your dentist's or orthodontist's instruction.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a whole lot easier than paying to straighten the same teeth twice.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you're deciding whether Invisalign or Veneers makes more sense for your smile, watch this video next.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is appearing on your screen now.