After enduring through at least 18 months of braces and Invisalign treatment, your braces finally come off. You are now in charge of your life and your new smile, You are thrilled with the results but then comes the next question: "What's to do next?" Dr. Nancy Phan recommends you these 4 steps to retain your beautiful smile.
1)
Wear your retainers
You need to wear your retainers full time during the first year, as per recommendations by your orthodontist. By the 2nd year, you usually just need to wear retainers at bedtime.
2) Care for your retainers
You need to brush your retainers daily to prevent stain and tartar build-ups on your retainers. Make sure you do not leave the retainer near the window facing hot sun light or near heated sources because the retainers can get distorted. Retainers are made out of acrylic material, which is a high-pressed plastic material, thus in the presence of heat, they get distorted. When this happens, your retainers will not fit properly. Avoid drinking hot coffee, tea or chocolate while wearing your retainers in your mouth. If such event happened, you need to go back to your orthodontist right away to get them check out. You may need to order a replacement set of retainers.
3) Care for your new teeth
Daily dental hygiene is very important to maintain your healthy mouth. You need to brush and floss your teeth daily to keep them shine, white, and smelling fresh Brushing and flossing also prevent cavity and gum disease. Don’t forget to make an appointment with your general dentist to get a dental cleaning and a thorough cavity check after braces came off. At that appointment, your general dentist can evaluate your wisdom teeth and give you recommendations on whether or not to remove your wisdom teeth. Your dentist would let you know if any restorative or cosmetic treatment such as dental whitening recommended.
4) Avoid unhealthy habits
Avoid biting your pen, pencil or your finger nails. Repetitive motions such as biting on pencil can wear down your enamel and place non-optimal force on your teeth to cause the teeth to shift. Avoid smoking while you are wearing your retainers. The smoke can discolor your clear retainers and cause your wire (hawley) retainers to turn brown. Avoid eating while you are wearing your retainers. Chewing force may rock the retainers' wires and cause your teeth to shift. Retainer arms can get bent and they change the fit in the mouth. Eating with retainers in the mouth also shorten the shelf life of retainers. They will crack sooner.
You need to wear your retainers full time during the first year, as per recommendations by your orthodontist. By the 2nd year, you usually just need to wear retainers at bedtime.
2) Care for your retainers
You need to brush your retainers daily to prevent stain and tartar build-ups on your retainers. Make sure you do not leave the retainer near the window facing hot sun light or near heated sources because the retainers can get distorted. Retainers are made out of acrylic material, which is a high-pressed plastic material, thus in the presence of heat, they get distorted. When this happens, your retainers will not fit properly. Avoid drinking hot coffee, tea or chocolate while wearing your retainers in your mouth. If such event happened, you need to go back to your orthodontist right away to get them check out. You may need to order a replacement set of retainers.
3) Care for your new teeth
Daily dental hygiene is very important to maintain your healthy mouth. You need to brush and floss your teeth daily to keep them shine, white, and smelling fresh Brushing and flossing also prevent cavity and gum disease. Don’t forget to make an appointment with your general dentist to get a dental cleaning and a thorough cavity check after braces came off. At that appointment, your general dentist can evaluate your wisdom teeth and give you recommendations on whether or not to remove your wisdom teeth. Your dentist would let you know if any restorative or cosmetic treatment such as dental whitening recommended.
4) Avoid unhealthy habits
Avoid biting your pen, pencil or your finger nails. Repetitive motions such as biting on pencil can wear down your enamel and place non-optimal force on your teeth to cause the teeth to shift. Avoid smoking while you are wearing your retainers. The smoke can discolor your clear retainers and cause your wire (hawley) retainers to turn brown. Avoid eating while you are wearing your retainers. Chewing force may rock the retainers' wires and cause your teeth to shift. Retainer arms can get bent and they change the fit in the mouth. Eating with retainers in the mouth also shorten the shelf life of retainers. They will crack sooner.
By following
these tips, we hope you can best keep your fabulous smile for a life time.
Care
Orthodontics is located in San Jose California.
We offer:
Invisalign - clear removable aligners for adults and
teenagers
Metal and ceramic braces – catering to your individual need
Headgear – to correct bad bite and different type of
mal-occlusions
Retainers – to replace lost retainers or after orthodontic
treatment
Visit us at www.CareOrthodontics.com or call the
office at 408-971-2885 for questions or to schedule an appointment.
