After the braces are taken off, maintaining a beautiful smile requires regular dental upkeep. This entails using a retainer, practicing good dental hygiene, and visiting your orthodontist on a regular basis for checkups. We'll talk about the value of dental aftercare in this post and how it may keep your mouth healthy and attractive for years to come.
The time has finally come to have your braces removed so that your smile is unobscured by brackets and wires after wearing them for months or even years. However, the path to a perfect smile doesn't stop there. Maintaining the outcomes of orthodontic treatment requires adhering to a comprehensive dental aftercare regimen. In this post, we'll talk about what happens after braces are taken off, such as how to utilize retainers and how to keep up with regular orthodontic checkups.
The removal of the braces is the first step in dental aftercare. This is a simple procedure that typically takes under an hour. Your orthodontist will carefully remove any remaining adhesive from your teeth after the braces are removed and polish them to remove any surface stains.
Your orthodontist will then put a retainer on you. The retainer is a crucial component of dental aftercare because it aids in maintaining your teeth's position after they have been relocated by braces. Based on your particular requirements, your orthodontist will advise you on the appropriate retainer type for you.
Removable and fixed retainers are the two basic categories. Removable retainers are supposed to be worn constantly, excluding during eating and brushing, and are constructed of plastic or acrylic. Thin wires known as fixed retainers are bonded to the back of your teeth and cannot be taken out by the patient.
Wearing your retainer as prescribed by your orthodontist is crucial. If you don't use your retainer, your teeth may shift back to their pre-brace positions, erasing all the progress you've achieved. Patients usually have to wear their retainers 24/7 for the first few months before progressively cutting back to just at night.
To keep your teeth healthy and avoid decay, it's crucial to continue with proper oral hygiene routines like routine brushing and flossing in addition to wearing your retainer. A retainer can be damaged or become loose by eating foods that are hard, sticky, or chewy.
Your orthodontist will arrange routine checkups after the first few months of wearing your retainer full-time in order to track your progress and make sure your teeth are maintaining their new positions. These examinations are necessary to identify any potential problems as early as possible and stop them from getting worse.
Your orthodontist may suggest additional procedures like teeth whitening or cosmetic bonding in addition to routine checkups to further improve the appearance of your smile.