Having your teeth straightened as a child is a huge benefit because it's easier to manipulate teeth at that age and gives you a jump start on having a straight smile as an adult. However, many people who go through having their teeth straightened as children notice that their teeth start to drift in adulthood. What's causing this problem for you, and how can you fix it? Read on to find out.
Retainers
One of the biggest problems that children often face once they get their braces off is that they don't wear their retainers the way that they should. In general, retainers are usually recommended for a few years after a patient is done with braces to effectively set the teeth in place. However, if a retainer isn't used, the teeth can start to drift back to their old positions, or near to them. Some children simply don't wear retainers, while others never receive them, or they become broken. In any case, if you didn't wear a retainer much or at all as a child, this may be what's wrong.
Bad Habits
Alternatively, bad habits can trigger your teeth to start drifting again. For example, smoking or biting your nails can cause your teeth to start becoming misaligned. These are fairly common habits for adults to develop, so it's a common problem for formerly straightened teeth.
How to Get Back What You've Lost
Just because your teeth have drifted doesn't mean that you've lost everything about your braces treatment. If you had an overbite or underbite, chances are that your overall bite alignment is still good; it's just the individual teeth that have moved a bit. As a result, you shouldn't need to get traditional braces to fix this problem.
Instead, consider talking to your dentist about invisible braces. Invisible braces save you the trouble of having a metal smile and painful braces adjustments. Instead, you receive what is very similar to a retainer that's completely clear, making it nearly unnoticeable to others and will help your teeth to gradually move back to where they belong. Best of all, if you simply keep wearing your last pair of invisible braces at the end of your treatment, it will act as a retainer and you won't lose your alignment again.
It's an unfortunate situation that many children lose some of what their braces accomplished in adulthood, but that doesn't mean that you can't fix the problem. Talk to your dentist or orthodontist about invisible braces solutions like Invisalign.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!