Do You Need to Wear Retainers Forever after Invisalign?

After completing your Invisalign treatment, you begin enjoying Invisalign’s results. You think the miraculous teeth aligners helped straighten your teeth within 12 to 18 months to give you the beautiful smile you desired. Even as you visit the Ellicott City dentist with your last set of braces to receive confirmation of completing your treatment, the dentist springs a surprise by stating you must wear Invisalign retainers over your teeth indefinitely to prevent them from moving back to their original positions.

The term ‘indefinitely’ concerns you to question the dentist why you must wear the retainers after investing in Invisalign and getting your teeth straightened. As you don’t have information on why the retainers become necessary. This blog provides some essential information to make you aware of the importance of these appliances to hold your teeth in their new positions to benefit your smile, oral, and overall health.

Why Do You Need a Retainer to Hold Your Teeth in Their New Positions?

The surrounding jawbone partially holds your teeth in position. When you receive orthodontic treatment, whether metal braces or Invisalign, the treatment softens your jawbone to cause your teeth to shift to their final positions. After completing your therapy, you must start wearing retainers to ensure your teeth remain in place until your jawbone stabilizes and new bone develops. Your body requires approximately 12 to 18 months to build sufficient bone to stabilize your teeth.

You might have accepted orthodontic treatment with Invisalign thinking you will be free from wearing the braces in 12 to 18 months and enjoy the freedom of having beautiful teeth for the rest of your life. Information that you must wear retainers indefinitely might disappoint you. However, if you decide to ignore your dentist’s advice, your teeth will begin moving back to their original positions to leave you with crooked and misaligned teeth accompanied by various other problems that you endured before starting Invisalign treatment. In addition, your teeth are ever prepared to shift back to the positions they were in earlier and are stubborn to achieve their goal. Therefore if you want to safeguard your investment in Invisalign treatment, you must adhere to your dentist’s advice and wear the retainers as directed.

What Can You Not Do with Invisalign?

When you start orthodontic treatment with clear aligners from Invisalign in Ellicott City, the dentist suggests a list of don’t’s you must follow to help the braces straighten your teeth within the stipulated timeline. What you can’t do with Invisalign braces is mentioned below for your reference.

• You mustn’t remove Invisalign clear aligners from your teeth for over 2 to 4 hours daily; the freedom is merely to have food and maintain excellent dental hygiene.
• You cannot consider eating or drinking anything but water with Invisalign clear aligners over your teeth.
• Invisalign aligners are durable but need care when wearing them in your mouth. Pulling them off your teeth can break the aligners, making it essential to remain careful when wearing or removing them.
• You cannot have the aligners in your mouth when eating anything, including chewing gum, because you might damage the braces.
• Do not consider wearing the braces without cleaning them because they can discolor and appear ungainly in your mouth.

Does insurance cover Invisalign?

If your teeth are straightened because they are misaligned, crooked, gapped, or crowded, you need orthodontic treatment with conventional therapies or alternative solutions such as Invisalign. Insurance companies cover orthodontic treatments to straighten teeth because it benefits your dental and overall health. Therefore you can expect coverage for orthodontic treatment from your insurance provider because most insurance companies have plans that include some orthodontic benefits. However, it helps if you discuss with your insurance provider and your dentist the coverage you might receive because insurers are particular about how much they cover and consider the duration of your treatment before committing to any figure.

How Much Time Must You Wear The Retainers Daily?

The retainers must remain in your mouth, similar to Invisalign braces, and are removable merely for eating and cleaning your mouth. Fortunately, the retainers are fabricated from the same dental grade clear plastic that helped fabricate your Invisalign braces, making them remain indistinguishable in your mouth. During the initial 12 to 18 months, the dentist might recommend wearing them throughout the day and night. After that, the dentist examines your teeth to assess whether your jawbone has stabilized. They might suggest wearing the retainers for 3 to 5 days weekly if it has. However, the retainers must remain in your mouth indefinitely because your teeth can gradually shift back to leave you with orthodontic imperfections even after receiving an excellent treatment to correct your problems.

Julian Center for Comprehensive Dentistry provides Invisalign therapy to patients needing them and suggests the need to wear retainers after completing Invisalign treatment. If you have orthodontic flaws and qualify for therapy, consult the practice to understand what you need and proceed with the treatment to straighten your teeth.