Huge gaps AFTER braces

[jf66]

Hope someone can help shed some light on this; I got my braces off a month ago, top and bottom after two years. My top teeth are perfect but on the bottom right my ortho has left three huge gaps of 1-1.3~ mm between three teeth. He didnt mention to me why this was, and i am going back to ask him, but i am thinking there has to be a reason for it. It looks awful, worse than prior to braces, yet the left side of the low jaw is all nice and tight.

Is there any legitimate reason for purposely leaving gaps? To do with bite, etc?

Many thanks

[TumbleDryLow]

Don't know which teeth you are talking about, but off the top of my head here are some common reasons for small gaps: If you are talking about molars and you had molar bands, the bands will leave a gap between the molars that may close over time. Gaps between front teeth (especially the lower front incisors) could be there due to tooth shape. If your teeth are triangular in shape they will touch at the top but not at the bottom leaving what are called black triangles.

If the gaps are not due to tooth shape a retainer should be able to close the small gaps if it's made to do so.

[jf66]

The gaps are between my laterial incisor and canine, and between the canine and first molars. They are BIG gaps. The bands were not on these teeth

[TumbleDryLow]

All I can say is that when you do go and see your ortho demand (politely) that he adjust your retainer (or make you a new one) to close the gaps. Retainers can usually make small adjustments to teeth after the braces are off. Maybe your ortho was planning on having the retainer close those gaps. (?)

[jf66]

[quote="TumbleDryLow"]All I can say is that when you do go and see your ortho demand (politely) that he adjust your retainer (or make you a new one) to close the gaps. Retainers can usually make small adjustments to teeth after the braces are off. Maybe your ortho was planning on having the retainer close those gaps. (?)[/quote]

These are on my bottom teeth, and my ortho told me i did not NEED a retainer for them. I went back for a checkup a month later and he said nothing had moved, still did not need a retainer. This was 2 weeks ago. I had assumed i would need one to close the gaps at some point (as happened with my top teeth, the retainer closed some small gaps after braces were removed) , but he never even mentioned the gaps on the lower.

[TumbleDryLow]

So you have no retainer at all for your bottom teeth? And you'll never have one ever? I'm sorry but that's really strange behavior for an ortho. I was under the impression that pretty much all orthos these days agree that for long term straight teeth one needs long term retention. Teeth shift over time unless you have a retainer to hold them in place. Bottom teeth are especially prone to this shifting. IDK...strange.

Time to see a different ortho who will make you a set of retainers maybe.

[jf66]

I am 100% certain even a retainer would not close the gaps on the bottom, they are too big. However, he said that if nothing moved within the first month, it was unlikely to move at all. For this reason it seems like he left the gaps on purpose, for whatever reason, and i kinda of just trusted him and assumed they might close by themselves. I am going back next week to quiz him on it, but i am as confused as i am annoyed! I was posting this to get an idea if there is any reason why this would be done on purpose

[TumbleDryLow]

Even if a retainer wouldn't close the gaps you should still have one on the bottom to prevent relapse and crowding over time. I don't really have an answer as to why he would have left gaps. Good luck at your appointment. Post back and let me know his reasoning. Now I'm curious.

[Bullfighter]

So you have no retainer at all for your bottom teeth? And you'll never have one ever? I'm sorry but that's really strange behavior for an ortho. I was under the impression that pretty much all orthos these days agree that for long term straight teeth one needs long term retention. Teeth shift over time unless you have a retainer to hold them in place. Bottom teeth are especially prone to this shifting. IDK...strange.

Time to see a different ortho who will make you a set of retainers maybe.

I agree. I'm on my third time in braces and I've never heard of not having some kind of retainer after orthodontia. I wore top and bottom retainers for at least 10 years after the braces I had when I was 12.

[jf66]

I went to my ortho today, well it turns out the gaps arent supposed to be there, and he is making me a removable retainer to close the gaps up. That simple. He just kind of said 'this can happen in adults' and didnt comment on any cause or the fact that the teeth were left like this when he took the braces off. He seemed to think they must have moved since i got the braces removed, but i wasnt in the mood to question him or call him on it, because they were NOT touching when he took them off and during a visit for a post-braces-removal checkup 3 weeks ago he said nothing had moved!!.

I am only guessing that he didnt bring it because i didnt mention it, hence thought i must have been 'happy' with it. Once i brought it up today, he went straight for the molding tray... Why i didnt get this done immediately after the braces were removed i do not know, but at least its getting sorted so thats a relief. The whole thing just baffles me honestly, seems like lazy or shoddy work.

I asked my regular dentist for his opinion and he said a retainer should work for moving the teeth, despite the big gaps. I had always thought that braces moved the teeth and retainer just held their position, but this movement will require 3-5mm of total movement to get the teeth in proper position!. Now to hope the retainer DOES close the gaps up

[TumbleDryLow]

Maybe your ortho assumed your teeth would settle and the natural tendency of teeth to drift forward over time would close the gaps.
Never the less, I'm very happy to hear that your ortho has acknowledged the problem and has agreed to fix it. Retainers are able to do minor movement. 1mm here and there is pretty minor. I'm also happy to hear that you will now have a lower retainer which I think you should have had all along.

[roxie2519]

If you have any concerns talk to your doctor, maybe he could fix them up for free, I'm sure he/she wouldn't like to get any negative reviews