You spent many months, or even years, wearing braces to improve your dental alignment and smile. In addition, you probably spent a pretty penny for braces or Invisalign. Now the big day comes when the braces come off and your teeth are free. But not really. The next phase of your treatment involves wearing a retainer and, in many cases, this is the most important part of your treatment. Not only does your retainer help keep your teeth in place, but it can also help reduce your risk of medical conditions. While you may be tempted to shrug off the need for that retainer, these four reasons show its real importance.
Holds Position and Stabilizes Your Bite
Braces or Invisalign work to slowly move the position of your teeth. When this happens, changes to the bone and soft tissue occur. While your teeth quickly adjust to their new position, it takes time for the soft tissue and bone to heal and adjust. The purpose of the retainer is to hold your teeth in their new position while the soft tissue and bone stabilize. Without your retainer, your teeth will naturally start to move back to their natural position, reversing all the hard work you just went through.
Prevents the Need for Braces Again
Without a retainer, nothing holds your teeth in place while the soft tissue and bones heal after movement. Slowly, your teeth will begin to shift back to their position, reversing all the work the braces accomplished. If you choose to not wear your retainer, chances are you may be in for another round of braces down the road. You just spent all this time and money on treatment, do you really want to do that again?
Wearing a Retainer Improves Oral Hygiene
One of the reasons you may have had braces in the first place was to correct misaligned or overcrowded teeth. When teeth overlap or are not aligned properly, it can affect your ability to brush and floss well enough to remove bacteria and plaque.
High-quality Essix or Essix Plus retainers from SportingSmiles help to keep your teeth in place, helping to improve oral hygiene and reduce the risk of medical complications, such as periodontal disease.
It can also lead to abnormal wear of the tooth enamel as teeth rub against each other when you bite or chew. While your braces have fixed these issues, your retainer helps keep your teeth in place and makes cleaning much easier.
Reduces the Risk of Health Problems
As mentioned above, misaligned teeth can contribute to poor dental hygiene. What you may not know, is poor dental hygiene can contribute to a lot more than just unhealthy teeth. Periodontal disease occurs when the tissue, or gums, around the teeth, become infected. Researchers have found connections between periodontal disease and serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and respiratory disease.
While wearing a retainer may seem like a headache, the truth is that wearing that retainer can really make a difference for your smile and your health. To find out more about the retainers we offer here at SportingSmiles, visit HERE.
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