Metal Mouth Message Board

So i'm only 5 months into bracing and i'm already beginning to wonder, how come some people still retain their perfect smile despite not wearing retainers for YEARS I dare say after they debraced? Yet there are people who can barely keep their retainers off their teeth for days without experiencing a shift?

How do we determine how much would our teeth shift after debracing?
Is it relative to the age we got braces? (i.e. the younger we were when we got braces, the less likely we would experience a shift)

or is it relative to how aggressive our orthodontists were during each tightening session?

I think it's a crap shoot. Genetics, behaviour (talking, eating, teeth grinding at night) and pure dumb luck all play a role. Teeth are prone to movement, in fact it wouldn't surprise me if movement is the rule and staying in place is the exception. So when the time comes, wear you retainer. You don't want to get braced twice like me!

I have no idea, but I have to get 2 permanent retainers and removable ones when I get debraced next month to prevent movement again (I had a lot of crowding before). I wonder that too, but everyone seriously scared the bejesus out of me with their "I never wore my retainer" horror stories. Everyone's teeth shifted back and I do not want to take that chance!

My ortho told me that when I'm debraced, he will leave my teeth a little overcorrected because they will shift somewhat back in to the correct alignment. Also told me to wear my retainer forever! (YES SIR!)

Aw thanks for all the replies. Now i'll keep in mind to wear retainers for life.

Now anyone here have any idea if it is advisable to get the midline corrected if its only off by 1mm? I'm pretty sure my midline for upper row is kinda off by a mm but i'm not sure if its a wise move to get it corrected with braces.

Would that cause a worse relapse after debracing if the midline was corrected with braces?

klobird > your orthodontist is truly a genius! I hope my orthodontist would do that to me as well. I'm really lazy =/ I can already foresee my teeth getting a relapse years after

The midline can probably ONLY be corrected with braces. It's a standard thing for an ortho to fix, one of the main things they look at. Your ortho should discuss all this in your treatment plan and if for some reason they don't mention your midline, bring it up yourself.

I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that braces make relapse worse? Braces correct the position of the teeth, but once they're off, they have no effect either way.

margarets wrote:The midline can probably ONLY be corrected with braces. It's a standard thing for an ortho to fix, one of the main things they look at. Your ortho should discuss all this in your treatment plan and if for some reason they don't mention your midline, bring it up yourself.

I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that braces make relapse worse? `Braces correct the position of the teeth, but once they're off, they have no effect either way.

Ummm, well I wouldn't say that braces make relapse worse but rather I suspect how much our teeth shifted during the course of braces can affect the rate of relapse. I remember seeing some posts somewhere claiming 'how successfully our teeth shifted during the course of braces after each tightening session' can be a factor for how quickly our teeth would go back to the original state after debracing.

I'm not sure if i'm making any sense here (pardon my poor grasp of English), but somehow I have a feeling that:

1) Correcting mid-line involves every single tooth on the same arc to be shifted by at least 1mm or more. And having to move every tooth increase the probability of relapse for more teeth on the same arc as compared to a patient who only had to move one or two teeth down for his otherwise perfect arc to fix his 'buck teeth'.

2) The faster our teeth are shifted (i.e. after tightening session and the orthodontist rushed into our treatment by increasing the pull of tightening bands), the faster our teeth would go into relapse after debracing.

There are some people (children only?) that don't need retainers, why is that?
I only heard from adults that tell me that from when they had them as a child.
There are also some cases where they wear removable top and bottom at night?

vincent168 wrote:There are some people (children only?) that don't need retainers, why is that?
I only heard from adults that tell me that from when they had them as a child.
There are also some cases where they wear removable top and bottom at night?

I have not heard that children do not need retainers. I have always read that anyone who has had orthodontic treatment will need to wear a retainer. Of course it could be wrong, I don't know any children with braces personally, just adults.

People should wear a removable retainer too because the bonded type is only attached to the front 4-6 teeth, so the removables will help retain the rest of the teeth.

BraceFace2o1o wrote:

vincent168 wrote:There are some people (children only?) that don't need retainers, why is that?
I only heard from adults that tell me that from when they had them as a child.
There are also some cases where they wear removable top and bottom at night?

I have not heard that children do not need retainers. I have always read that anyone who has had orthodontic treatment will need to wear a retainer. Of course it could be wrong, I don't know any children with braces personally, just adults.

People should wear a removable retainer too because the bonded type is only attached to the front 4-6 teeth, so the removables will help retain the rest of the teeth.

Yes i'm thinking of getting my orthodontist to make me a permanent retainer and a set of removable retainers just to be safe. Phew, I mean I already spent 5 grand on braces, wouldn't want a moment of folly to ruin my teeth all over again

Ummm, well I wouldn't say that braces make relapse worse but rather I suspect how much our teeth shifted during the course of braces can affect the rate of relapse. I remember seeing some posts somewhere claiming 'how successfully our teeth shifted during the course of braces after each tightening session' can be a factor for how quickly our teeth would go back to the original state after debracing.

I'm not sure if i'm making any sense here (pardon my poor grasp of English), but somehow I have a feeling that:

1) Correcting mid-line involves every single tooth on the same arc to be shifted by at least 1mm or more. And having to move every tooth increase the probability of relapse for more teeth on the same arc as compared to a patient who only had to move one or two teeth down for his otherwise perfect arc to fix his 'buck teeth'.

2) The faster our teeth are shifted (i.e. after tightening session and the orthodontist rushed into our treatment by increasing the pull of tightening bands), the faster our teeth would go into relapse after debracing.

Ah, I see. Relapse isn't affected by things like "tightening" (orthos don't really tighten teeth, it just feels that way) or how fast your treatment went or how bad your teeth were to start. Once they are in their correct position, a retainer helps them stay there. Teeth are prone to movement anyway (even if you never had braces) and actions like talking, eating, tongue-thrusting or teeth-grinding can move them around. Also, genetics and pure dumb luck play a role.

After 2 years of retainer-wearing, I had no retainer whatsoever and had 20 good years of straight teeth. Only in my early 40s did I start to notice some slight relapse. Others experience bad relapse within a year. Why? No one really knows.