You’ve worked so hard and spent a small fortune on getting your teeth into the perfect position. It’s now time to show off that beautiful smile to everyone you know and post it on social media. For the first few weeks, you’re pleased with the results and have been careful to retain your smile by wearing a retainer. Unfortunately, your teeth begin to shift and you don’t understand it. You wonder to yourself why are my teeth moving with a retainer? Sporting Smiles has had various customers come to us after they’ve had bad experiences with other retainer brands. Here’s what we’ve heard and found out about why teeth still move even when users wear a retainer.
Retainers are a full-time responsibility
You probably have been lectured by everyone from your dentist to your parents. Wearing your retainer is a must. It’s the only way to prevent your teeth from shifting back to their natural position. Most retainer wearers have a routine where they put their retainers in at night and keep them in while they sleep. If you aren’t wearing your retainer every night you are at risk for your teeth shifting.
Everyday protection is important in keeping your teeth straight. You may think you’re doing a good job wearing your retainer if you wear it four or five times a week but the reality is your teeth are at a higher risk to shift each time you neglect your retainer. If you skip a day or two your teeth are without protection for 48-72 hours. That’s a lot of time in-between protection periods especially if you have recently completed your braces or Invisalign treatments. Your teeth have an elastic memory and will always want to return to their original placement. If your teeth are moving with a retainer, it may be because you aren’t wearing it enough. Stick to a strict nightly routine and wear your retainer every night to keep your teeth in place.
Your retainer has micro cracks
Did you know that you can damage your retainer when you clean it with the wrong methods? If you want to know what approved methods there are to cleaning your retainer, check out our ultimate guide on cleaning your retainer. When your retainer is scrubbed with a hard bristle toothbrush it can cause micro-scratches which will weaken your retainer. That may not sound like a big deal but micro-scratches can lead to micro-cracks which are hairline fractures in your retainer. A cracked retainer is still better than no retainer but if you continue to wear a cracked retainer your teeth will begin to shift.
The entire retainer needs to be at full strength for 100 percent protection. You may not be able to see the micro-cracks until you carefully examine your retainer. Be careful when pulling off your retainer as well. We recommend that you grasp your retainer sides with both hands and gently pull down to avoid unnecessary strain on the plastic. If you believe your teeth are moving with a retainer, it may be because your retainer has been damaged. Look for tiny scratch lines or visible cracks to make sure.
Your retainer is cheaply made
Getting a retainer from the dentist can cost a small fortune, that’s why there are many brands out there that offer DIY retainers. Unfortunately, you may come across retainer brands that offer quality but don’t deliver. Sporting Smiles has been in business since 2009 and has been crafting premium retainers for over one million customers. We’re confident when we say we’ll be here for a long time. That’s why we’ve recently unrolled our 3D Impressions for Life program to make life-long relationships with our customers. When you receive a retainer from a new brand or a foreign brand, you may risk receiving retainers that are not up to industry standard.
Retainers are made from essix plastic. It’s the clear material that forms the retainers to fit around your teeth. When companies use inferior materials, your retainer strength may become questionable. Your teeth may begin to move with a retainer because the strength of the plastic doesn’t hold your teeth in place. If you’ve ordered a retainer from another company before, make sure that they are quality by checking what type of material they are made from. Sporting Smiles offers premium essix-plus retainers which is the strongest material available to plastic retainers. All of our materials come from the United States too, so your material isn’t shipped from overseas or waiting in humid hot weather to be shipped.
Trust the experts who have been crafting premium dental retainers since 2009. All of our dental lab techs have been thoroughly trained and certified to be techs. With the latest technology and advanced tools, retainers from Sporting Smiles are durable, reliable, and thoroughly tested for quality before shipping to you.
Your retainer is loose
Did you know that the strength of your retainer can be affected by the Sun? If you leave your retainer out during the day on a nightstand or near a window the sunlight can change the quality of your retainer including making it loose. When putting your retainer on, you may feel that it doesn’t fit quite right or have trouble staying on.
It’s not just the Sun that can change the elasticity of your retainer. If you put too much stress on your retainer by pulling on it or playing with it (especially if a dog or small child gets ahold of the retainer) it can make the trim loose. Age also plays a factor in your retainer becoming loose. Retainers won’t last forever, no matter how great of material they are made from. We recommend replacing your retainer once a year to keep the material at its peak performance. A surefire way to judge if your retainer is getting loose is to keep a backup on hand. Backup retainers are helpful for two different reasons. The first is you’ll be able to judge if your teeth have shifted. If it feels tight or loose, you’ll know your teeth are on the move. Another reason to keep a backup retainer is if you lose or break your retainer, you’ll have another on hand while you reorder a new one.
3 comments
My problem was that my retainer was loose because of all the natural wear on it. Glad I found a replacement retainer with you guys before it was too late for me. Thanks for helping me out.
My dentist’s technicians cut out a portion of the back of my clear retainers. they say it is so they can be taken off easily, because of complaints from some patients. Can this cause teeth to move even though retainers are worn?
Your molars may move a little but they will be micro movements and not effect your overall smile. We include the molars unless our customers don’t want them.