Parental dental tips

Are you fed up of being self-conscious when you smile? Do you find that you move your hand up in front of your mouth when you're talking because you don't want people to see your teeth? Of course, this is no way to go through life, and sooner or later, you're going to come to that conclusion yourself. When that happens, you will be straight on the phone to your orthodontist to talk with them about straightening your teeth using braces. This may be something that you had thought of before, but simply weren't ready for, or maybe you had a natural fear of the dentist's chair. Nevertheless, sooner or later you will come to your senses and begin the process, but why is it equally as important to continue treatment after the braces are removed?

Initial Treatment

As you may know, the orthodontist will attach a set of braces to your existing teeth by using retainers and a special wire system. Over the space of some weeks and months, these wires will very gently but consistently 'pull' the teeth back into their ideal position so that you don't have any of those awkward gaps anymore. While you will need to keep these braces in place to ensure that the treatment works as planned, you will also need to continue to visit the dentist for a while when they are removed.

After-Care

Your orthodontist will recommend that you wear retainers after the braces have been taken out, for good reason. Primarily, you want to safeguard the good work until everything settles down, and the retainers will help you to achieve this.

Further Movement

Did you know that, in certain circumstances, your teeth can continue to move even when the braces have been taken out? While this does not happen in every case and there may be a limit to how far they will move in this type of circumstance, there is definitely a risk here. Without retainers, you may find that the teeth have moved just enough that you have to reintroduce braces to move them back where they should be. That's the last thing that you want, after all.

Being Proud of Your New Look

Fundamentally, however, you want to ensure that your new smile is something that you can be proud of and you won't want to take any risks in the future. After all, it's taken you so long to get to this position that you should do everything you can to make sure that it stays that way. In the circumstances, the retainers should be no problem at all.

Making the First Move

Make sure that you talk with your dentist so you understand the full extent of the treatment, including any after-care.