Help with my orthodontist and retainer!!?

Question

I recently got my braces off in May and I have a top and bottom wire retainer that I wear just as directed. I wear it religiously and my teeth are STILL shifting. I called my orthodontist to tell him but he's always "busy" and is only open on the weekends and couldn't schedule me in until August. His assistant told me to tighten it myself by pulling the wires but I don't know how to do it. I'm upset because I had them on for two years and now they are just all going back... What should I do? Please help!

Answer 1

Hi,

Couple of things might have happened :

1. The retainer might not have been fabricated well in the beginning. Also, as I will explain later, the measurements can change over time. As a result, the retainers may not fit well. Therefore, you are supposed to go to your orthodontist periodically for follow-up visits and get new retainers made, if necessary.

2. Even with your honest intentions you might not have used it religiously everyday. Not wearing a retainer even for a week (e.g., when you forget to take it with you on a trip) can allow for a relapse to a certain degree.

3. Depends on how long a day you wear the retainer. You are supposed to use it at least 8 -10 hours a day. That is why you should wear it early in the evening as soon as you get the opportunity to put it in.

4. It depends on your age, but I am guessing that you did not get your wisdom teeth taken out soon enough. Maybe you still have those in. With the constant thrust put on the rest of the teeth by the wisdom teeth might have caused your teeth to shift. The thin wires of the removable retainers are not always be strong enough to neutralize that force. As a result, over the years those wires give way and allow for shifting of the teeth.

5. I don't know when the braces were taken off the first time. If you were in your early teen years it is possible that significant amount of growth took place after you started to use the retainer. As I explained under point # 4, the retainer could not oppose that force to keep everything stable.

6. It is possible that because of the reasons mentioned under points # 4 and # 5, even after your using the retainer everyday did not guarantee the best possible result.

[For this reason many young patients need new retainers made every so often. Therefore, it is very important to go to the dentist on a regular basis and if possible, to go to the Orthodontist for follow-up visits also.]

7. The shifting can also be very significant with an underlying habit of clenching and / or grinding of teeth. The excess pressure exerted on the teeth forces the teeth out of position.

Hope this explained why the shifting of teeth has taken place.

**The retainer wire can be tightened by sqeezing the half loops a little WITHOUT making any sharp bend in those. You HAVE TO maintain the gentle curve in those half loops.

**However, DON"T mess with the retainer if you are totally clueless as to what to do to tighten it.

**In that case, see your dentist even if you have to wait a few weeks.

Answer 2

i have a retainer too and my teeth are kinda moving and so is my jaw but my condition is wose...im scheduled to get jaw surgery in october but i was told to keep ur retainers on ALL the time unless your eating i had my braces on for 3 yrs