Retainers are designed to prevent your teeth from shifting after you’ve had orthodontic work. This means that after you complete your braces or aligners from your dentist you’ll need to wear a retainer for the rest of your life to keep your teeth in that perfect position. What happens when your retainer doesn’t fit? Why does this happen and is there a way to make your retainers fit again? We’re looking at how to make your retainer fit again at home and some solutions to avoid this issue.
First, let’s discuss the lifespan of a retainer. When you first complete your treatments that have shifted your teeth into the perfect smile, your dentist will give you a retainer to wear. These clear plastic devices are to be worn at night. You’ll want to wear your retainer every night to continue to trick your teeth. Your teeth have a special function called “elastic memory”, this means that they will always want to return to their natural position once they’ve been shifted. This is why wearing a retainer is so important because it prevents your teeth from moving back to their natural spots. Your plastic retainer should last anywhere from one to two years depending on how you care for it and other factors. What if it becomes loose? How to make your retainer fit again at home will be discussed below.
A retainer becomes tight due to various factors, but the biggest is not wearing it. If you happen to lose your retainer or simply stop wearing it your teeth can begin shifting or they might have micro-movements. These micro-movements aren’t visible but they are enough to make a retainer tight or uncomfortable to wear. There’s a few ways on how to make your retainer fit again at home but first, you need to properly care for your retainer and make sure you are wearing it every night. It’s an important responsibility.
Retainer care is critical in expanding the lifespan of your retainer and keeping it tight. Make sure you are giving your retainer daily or weekly cleansings to rid it of bacteria that may be spreading on the material. We have an excellent video on how to properly clean your retainer if you need to refresher course.
How to make your retainer fit again at home isn’t an easy task and it should be considered a last resort. You may try to soak your retainer in warm water to gently loosen the material. Do not use hot or boiling water as will severely loosen the retainer and make it unusable. When your retainer is too loose, it won’t prevent teeth from shifting making it useless.
Your other option on how to make your retainer fit again at home is to trim the molars. This should again be a last resort and there are no guarantees that it will work but this could provide relief to your teeth if the retainer is too tight. Use curved nail scissors to trim the molars off and then use an emery board to smooth the material so it doesn’t irritate your gums. This is your best bet on how to make your retainer fit again at home.
While those are two options, both of them aren’t proven and may potentially damage your retainer. The best way to make your retainer fit again is to get a new one or a replacement set. SportingSmiles has been crafting premium retainers since 2009 and requires no insurance, no visits, and the entire process can be completed from the comfort of your home.
SportingSmiles will send you our patented impression kit where you will take easy impressions before shipping them back to us with free 3-way shipping. Our professional dental lab will craft your replacement retainers and then ship them back to you, all for typically half the cost of the dentist. These retainers are the same crystal-clear set and premium material that you’d get at a dentist but without the need to leave the comfort of your home. Make your retainer fit again at home by simply ordering a new pair.
