One of the biggest fear parents have for their children is seeing them grow with crooked teeth. That’s a problem braces tries to solve. The procedure can last for about two or three years. After braces are removed, you are supposed to wear a retainer. The work of a retainer is to ensure that straightened teeth don’t revert. The orthodontist’s job ends with a retainer. Let’s explore five reasons to wear a retainer after braces.

1. It Holds Your Teeth’s Position

The primary role of a retainer is to hold the position of your teeth where braces positioned them. Your teeth had wide gaps, some were facing east when they should face north or south, or they were simply overbite or underbite before you decided this is it. You’re going to wear braces.

After braces have done their job, the surrounding tissues of your teeth start adapting to the change and sometimes they might resist that change. So, to prevent your teeth from going back to their initial position, a retainer is needed. That’s why it’s essential to wear one.

2. Maintains Space for New and Wisdom Teeth

Food for thought. All the teeth in King Solomon’s mouth were wisdom teeth? Moving forward, braces are usually worn by kids, maybe in their preteen or teenage. Their bodies are growing at the time and so are their teeth. Teeth shed and grow again. Wisdom teeth develops when one is about the age of 20. During that period, you might be forced to wear braces.

After the braces are taken out, one needs to use a retainer to hold the spaces between their teeth so that new teeth and wisdom teeth can grow there. Retainers ensure that your teeth don’t shift.

3. Prevents Pain

According to an expert for braces San Diego, failing to wear retainer as your orthodontist instructed will cause your teeth to shift back slowly. The downside is that they will make you pay for it afterward.

If you wear the retainer like you are supposed to, you will have no trouble, but if you fail to follow the schedule, it will start being difficult to wear the retainer regularly because of the pain from your teeth. If this happens to you, pay a visit to your orthodontist and explain why you became careless.

4. Prevents a Repeat Treatment

Your teeth can be stubborn, you know! Just after removing the braces, they might start going back to Egypt in just some months. It would be very disappointing to go back to the orthodontist to start the process over and over again. That’s equivalent to be a pain in the… Besides, you wouldn’t want that as well.

By wearing a retainer just as the orthodontist ordered, you prevent that reversal and make your teeth relax in the “promised land”. You have to wear them every night. However, some patients are required to wear retainers for a few years. It’s worth doing so no matter how long you will have to do because, yes you are right, you want that beautiful smile.

5. Protects Your Investment

Somewhere in a third world country, some people can’t afford braces. Even in the US, some families struggle to put food in the table and roofs over their heads and to take care of their children’s dental arrangement is the last thing in their minds. Braces cost you thousands of dollars including the consultations with your orthodontist.

It would be stupid to not wear a retainer because you can’t risk having braces again. Do you even have fun wearing braces? Probably not. You can end that experience by wearing a retainer.

Conclusion

The retainer is the last thing you will have to wear before you say goodbye to your orthodontist. Wearing it diligently will ensure you achieve what you always wanted, a smile full of life. Wear a retainer before you sleep and as long as it takes.