Retention is the most important part of Orthodontic treatment. Whilst having your brace taken off is an exciting moment, failure to wear retainers as prescribed may result in teeth relapsing to their original position.
During orthodontic treatment teeth are held in position by your braces, but once removed, stretched fibres in the gum try to pull the teeth back to their original position, this is what we refer to as “orthodontic relapse”. It takes time for these fibres to remodel and stop pulling on the teeth. Continued growth of the jaws can also encourage the teeth to move once treatment has been completed. To avoid orthodontic relapse we provide our patients with retainers, which hold the teeth in their new position. Some movement may occur, this is normal and we understand this may be disappointing. By wearing retainers post treatment as advised, the risk of tooth movement will be dramatically minimised