Do teeth move and settle after braces are removed?

[Beebop]

I'm nearing the end of my journey of surgery and braces, and have a question on if and how teeth move afterwards, even when you use retainers, I can't quite get my head around it!

I have a slight clash of my upper incisor to the lower tooth, the lower doesn't quite slot in behind the upper and causes the rear molars not to touch, it's literally less than half a mm, but I am concerned that once braces are off and I am in retainers, that'll be it.

So my query is that the ortho has said that once the braces are off, teeth will settle and find their natural position, but I don't understand how if you are wearing a retainer, isn't the point of the retainer to keep things in place? She doesn't seem to worried about this, and I feel I might be nit-picking.

I think my upper incisor(s) might need a tweak to come outward and let the bite firmly go into place, but the ortho thinks I am ready to go - I don't want to take them off after all this time if it's a case of another 4-6 weeks in the braces.

Am I concerned over nothing, or should I raise this at my next meeting with her?

Thanks...

[Snowglobe32]

I think the teeth settle because they aren't held in place by wires anymore. I have been out of braces for almost 17 months, wear my retainers all the time and my teeth look great.

I really wouldn't worry about it. As long as you wear your retainers as instructed then for the rest of your life, you should be fine. For those that say you don't need to wear them forever, you do.

If you still have questions about teeth placement, talk to your ortho before they come off.

Good luck!

[samoorelaw]

I would address it with your ortho, especially ask your ortho about retainer options for post-surgery patients. I first got my braces off in September 2014 and immediately relapsed and had the braces put back on the molars and then had them removed in December 2014: you guessed it, my posterior open bite relapsed and now my crossbite is coming back AND I've been wearing my retainers religiously! I think my issue(s) were due to having the wrong retainers (no Hawley wraparounds initially to hold all my teeth in place). I now have a lower wraparound Hawley on the bottom and will be getting an upper wraparound Hawley in a few days.

[JillD]

You seem to have the problem I used to have after I was debraced. Please read my old posts. My teeth settled and I don't have the problem any longer.

[Beebop]

You seem to have the problem I used to have after I was debraced. Please read my old posts. My teeth settled and I don't have the problem any longer.

Well I saw my Ortho today and the braces have been removed, even now things are much better and seem to fit great, should have trusted the ortho's judgement anyway! The wires also gave me an impression of things being out of line that I no longer see. Pleased as punch, just have to wear retainers overnight for the next 12 months and they will review progress every 3.

Didn't enjoy having them removed though, some brackets were stubborn, but with a grind and polish they all look cool