Braces removed 10 years ago, now teeth moving? Why?!
Question: I had braces up until around ten years ago I still have a wire on the lower teeth at the back. Now suddenly I have noticed one of my upper teeth moving and it seems to be pushing one of my other teeth back. Why now suddenly would they start moving again?
Answers: I had braces up until around ten years ago I still have a wire on the lower teeth at the back. Now suddenly I have noticed one of my upper teeth moving and it seems to be pushing one of my other teeth back. Why now suddenly would they start moving again?
I hope EVERY orthodontic patient, present and future, is reading this.
Our teeth DO have a tendancy to shift as we age. The reasons WHY are numerous and irrelevent to what I have to say.
Sadly, orthodontists do not share this treasure of information with their patients, probably because most would opt out of the treatment plan if they KNEW THE TRUTH!
As far as I am concerned, after braces have been removed, a retainer MUST be worn day and night for at least a year and a half. What the retainer is doing is holding the teeth in place while the bone around the roots is remineralizing (hardening) around the roots in their NEW position. This process takes TIME. Failure to wear the retainer ensures rapid shifting of the teeth pretty much back to their original positions.
Now, after the year and a half is up, YOU ARE NOT FINISHED! Remember I said that the teeth can shift for a variety of reasons? This can happen whether you wore braces or not.
You must now try the retainer on ONCE a WEEK for LIFE! One night of the week, try the retainer on. If there is no pressure being applied to any teeth it is because the teeth have NOT SHIFTED. Put the retainer away.
If there IS pressure on one or more teeth, there HAS been movement. Wear the retainer nightly (or through the day if you wish) until the pressure is off.
This routine ensures that the teeth remain straight for life.
Now the good news...it might be MONTHS before you have to actually have to wear the retainer through the night. Trying the retainer on WEEKLY catches the problem BEFORE the teeth shift to the point where the retainer no longer fits. At that point you could be back into BRACES if a new retainer cannot be fashioned to correct the shifting!
By the way, I HATE the wire that is cemented on behind the lower front teeth. It enables plaque and tartar to accumulate far to easily. This causes gum disease that causes bone loss around the roots of the teeth. Eventually, the bone is no longer healthy and holding the teeth in place, the WIRE IS!!! So, you end up with straight lower front teeth with PERIODONTAL DISEASE instead! If I were you, I would have the dentist AND the hygienist put in writing in a document for YOU and for your dental chart the health status of the gums and bone around your lower front teeth. This forces them to be honest with you. MOST patients DO NOT brush and floss the wire properly, no offence. It is tedious and requires floss threaders that folks just won't use often enough to be effective.
your wisdom teeth could be coming through
You could be lucky like me and they will come in straight.
But some people get them coming out at angles
Talk to your dentist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_teet...
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/w...
Retainers are required to be worn once treatment with braces is complete. The orthodontist will recommend a retainer based on the patient's needs. If a patient does not wear the retainer as recommended, the teeth might move towards their original position (relapse).
A Hawley retainer is made of metal hooks that surround the teeth and are enclosed by an acrylic plate shaped to fit the patient's palate. An Essix retainer is similar to Invisalign trays. It is a clear plastic tray form-fitted to the teeth and stays in place by suction. A bonded retainer is a wire permanently bonded to the lingual side of the teeth (usually the lower teeth only).
So in other words the question is have you been wearing your retainer religiously