Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello everyone. After 2.5 years in braces I finally had them removed about two weeks ago due to some "mild" reabsorbtion that my ortho has told me not to worry about.
They were ready to come off anyway. He gave me clear retainers and told me to wear them at night which I do.

My issue is one tooth moves during the day and then moves back into place at night. It hurts when I first put the retainer in but only for a moment. This particular tooth was behind my other teeth and is the reason I got braces.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I just wear my retainer for more hours a day? I really can't stomach the thought of a permanent retainer.

Also is it normal for teeth to feel a little loose after braces? If so for how long?

It is normal for teeth to be mobile after the removal of braces. They will normally firm up in 21 days once all the inflammation of the forces of the braces has disappeared. To move teeth the bone in the direction of the force must be adsorbed while new bone must be formed behind the tooth. This takes time. Teeth has an incredible long "memory" - i.e. they will try to move back to the position it was moved from.
This is the reason why your most skew tooth (the one which was trapped behind the others) will move the most if you are not wearing your retainer. The tooth will move during the day and be pushed back into position by the retainer. This will become less and less with time, but to avoid any relapse, permanent retainers are the only answer I am afraid. A thin flat wire gets bonded behind your teeth - they are invisible from the front and you get used to it - other wise I will guarantee that even after a couple of years retainer wear once you stop you must expect some relapse. I am sorry if I sound negative, but experience have shown me that it is true.

Good luck!

It sounds to me like you should be wearing the retainer all day except when eating...did you ask your ortho if you can do that?

You are very early in the retainer phase so it shouldn't be a problem getting it back into correct position.

One more thing...it really bugs me when an ortho doesn't have a newly unbraced patient wear retainers 24/7 for at least a year. The teeth were held together for quite some time...do they think the teeth won't move??

Thank you both for your honest responses! Good info.

I was also surprised about only wearing at night. I may contact my ortho.