This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Retainers-How long are you supposed to wear them for?

So I have been wearing my retainers for as long as I can(only time I take them off is at school and eating+brushing my teeth) for about a year, even though my orthodontist told me to wear them only at night which I thought was a bit weird.

My friend told me you're supposed to wear them for life because your teeth WILL move: I was like :eek:

So my question is how long are you supposed to wear them, in general of course?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

-***-

For as long as you can. Ideally for the rest of your life.

I stopped wearing mine after a year and my teeth have now moved and there is a gap between my front teeth. :frown:

Reply 2

Age_of_Innocence

Rest of your life. I havent wore mine in years, don't think teeth have moved though. Should really try them on again...

Reply 3

Broderss

Yh I wore them only overnight and stopped wearing them after like 6 months which was a mistake. You should really wear them for as long as possible, but after a year or two I think putting them in every other night or twice a week is enough.

Reply 4

Ilovewords

I haven't put mine in for over a year and my teeth havn't moved. If i hadn't have lost it i'd wear it now and then for the rest of my life. There's nothing to lose really is there?

Plus, everyone loves the SLUUUURPPPPPP noise when you take it out lol

Reply 5

qasman

i stopped wearing mine the second i got out of the dentists office pshhhhh im such a rebel

Reply 6

username330427

I wore mine permanently for about a year, year and a half, then lost them for a while, then moved to nights. My top teeth are more or less OK (not that they were perfectly straight once my braces came off, but they at least have kept relatively straight afterward).

My bottom teeth, on the other hand, have a permanent retainer attached. However, it broke a while after, and my teeth have definitely moved as a result. Which is really depressing, but at least they're not as bad as they were before braces...

Reply 7

Magic_007

MarinaM

Get it fixed.

Reply 8

Age_of_Innocence

Ilovewords

If they do move though all the pain is for nothing! And for me the pain was pretty annoying. Was nice to bite into an apple again, minus the agony.
Oh and the slurp noise, nothing compared to the tendrils of slobber that follow :no:

Reply 9

Dez

Everyone is a bit different. Your teeth are likely to reset after you stop using the retainer, though it doesn't happen to everyone. You should wear it for at least a year (my ortho told me to wear it 6 months constant, then 6mo nights only, 6mo every other night, and so on), but you should talk to your ortho about it if you're unsure.

As for me, I stopped using them after 2 1/2 years after it was clear that my teeth were never going to stay put on their own. So they moved back a bit, but I much prefer that compared to having to wear retainers for ever more.

Reply 10

SugaSuga

It depends, if you feel that your teeth move when you dont wear your retainers, then go back to your dentist and ask for some permanent retainers to be fixed in. The sooner you get it done the better, they are fitted onto the insides of your teeth, and look like this, basically a thin metal wire glued on:

I think you go back and get them replaced once a year.. im not sure, but its better than wearing the over night ones.

Reply 11

shemi

your teeth are always moving, so you need to wear your retainer for the rest of your life (but usually only at night time) otherwise they will move right back to their natural positions which will probably be skew.
My dad is a dentist and we've had numerous discussions about things like this, partly because one of my friends was, a few months ago told by her dentist that she'd have to wear her retainer only for 2 more years then her teeth would stay where they were *FACEDESK*

Reply 12

lightburns

I was told to wear my retainers all the time for a few days, then nights for a year. I managed a few months. Given up now after maybe 6 months (I would occasionally put them in).

It probably helps that I had braces in for a very, very long time without them moving the teeth anymore. The braces were just there whilst I waited for teeth (in the right position) to come down after surgery.

But for life? Err.... no way. I was told after a while, they move less because the bone grows over it or something.

Lessen the amount you wear your retainer so you go to only nights, then only a couple of nights a week. If it hurts to put the retainer in, wear it more. Gradually, you should be able to wear them barely at all and them not hurt much. When you get sick of them, ditch. :P

Reply 13

username330427

Magic_007

Get it fixed.

I went to the orthodontist about it, and apparently they couldn't for some bizarre reason I'm still not quite sure of. :lolwut:

I hate the NHS sometimes.

Reply 14

toodles

I'm still wearing mine and am only bothered to wear them like twice a month. sad that i have to do this for the rest of my life!

Reply 15

El Nombre

I was told by my ortho to stop wearing them after two years. The last time I wore them was around 7 years ago.

My teeth have moved back slightly, but that's apparently due to the way I swallow (my tongue lunges towards the back of my two front teeth, pushing them forward), but still, most people say my teeth are fine, they're certainly nowhere near as bad as they were years ago.

Wearing retainers for the rest of your night, even if it's only at night seems a little excessive, but if you don't mind give it a go I guess.

Reply 16

userna-me*

I'm actually shocked that you're supposed to wear them for the rest of your life. I guess I should just wear them every night from now as I have already been wearing them for a year.

Okay thanks for the reply guys.

Reply 17

username244734

userna-me*

So my question is how long are you supposed to wear them, in general of course?

I got braces when I was 11, nearly 12. Had them for a year. The dentist told me that I had to wear them until I was 18 to prevent my teeth from moving.

I started off wearing retainers all day every day, to only night times, to every other night, to a night a week, to a night a fortnight. Now I just wear them whenever I remember and/or my teeth feel like they've moved (which is like, once a month atm).

I'm lucky because I only had one tooth out of place (it was behind the bottom teeth instead of infront) so them moving back hasn't actually done anything major.

My advice: Wear them until you feel like your teeth aren't moving anymore.