Wearing a retainer for more then the recommended time.

[Caitrm]

My braces were taken off almost 2 weeks ago. I have a top and bottom fixed as well as a clear retainer. My orthodontist wants me to wear my clear retainer for 14 hours a day.

My question is, would it be bad if I wore it for the majority of the day for the next little bit? Sometimes when I put it back in I feel like one of my top teeth is wanting to shift back to its previous position. I stay home with my kids so it's really not an issue for me to wear it, I just don't want to ruin anything!

[silverr11]

Hi,
it would be better to talk to your ortho and ask why specifically 14 hours, he/she might have a good reason.

[KittyNat]

I wouldn't have thought wearing your retainer for longer would do any harm. I think problems occur if you wear them less than recommended. I have permanent retainers and only wear my removable one overnight.

[corbanderson01]

I have Essix retainers and continue to wear them full time. I think that wearing them too much has never been a problem as long as they remain clean.

[BlondeCam]

You can wear as much as you like according to my ortho. The more the better. It's when you're not wearing the recommended hours per day that your teeth shift. Congratulations on the deboning.

[Snowglobe32]

Retainers are meant to retain your teeth...as long as you wear them. I am always baffled when I read orthos telling people to wear them less than 24 hours.

I wore my retainers full time except for eating for the first 2 years then the uppers broke and I switched over to my positioner, (home use only). I am now 4 years out of braces and they still look amazing.

You can always double check with your ortho but I highly doubt he/she will say "do not wear more than 14 hours."

They are your teeth, your investment, your time and energy that was put into perfecting your smile. As long as you want to keep that smile, my advice would be to wear your retainers as much as possible.

Congratulations!

[wallywal]

My ortho instructed me to wear my essix retainer full time for only the first seven days then just night wear. I tried going all day without wearing it after the week, but I didn't like the way my bite felt so I have been wearing it approximately 18 hours daily instead of nighttime only. Like others have said too little wear is what can cause problems