Retainer questions?!
Question: ok ok soo how long does it have to be worn?
plastic or metal?
Answers: ok ok soo how long does it have to be worn?
plastic or metal?
you dont have to wear it for the rest of your life. after you switch from wearing it 24/7 to nights only,you move onto alternate nights and then every third night etc... until you arent wearing it anymore. after that you just need to put it in about once a week or so, if it is tight then you should go back to wearing it at nights for a while and then you shouldnt need to wear it any more. if it isnt tight then your teeth havent moved so you dont have to wear it.
some peoples teeth move their whole life(very small percentage, so they would have to wear their retainer all the time, but teeth are held in place by fibirous tissues and once you have moved them and 'trained' them to stay in place with your retainer you should be able to stop wearing it.
i dont know about metal retainers,(unless your talking about a plate) but the plastic ones are see-through and are pretty comfortable. easy to replace if you lose them too.
first year half year they want you to wear it all day everyday, clean it after you eat of course but i would suggest just taking it out while you're eating.
after the first half year you wear it every night for the rest of your life. after a few years you can skip it every so often without your teeth moving, maybe for a night or two, but i don't recommend any longer than that because your teeth will move back in place.
ultimately you wear it for the rest of your life, unless you want crooked teeth again.
i didn't have the opportunity to choose plastic or metal but the metal isn't bad or anything. i don't know how the plastic is however.