I’ve just had my braces removed and I am delighted with the results. In this video blog I will give you a few tips and tricks of how to look after your teeth once your braces have been taken off. There are certain things that you need to do differently once you have had braces including the way you clean your teeth and look after them.
Once my braces were removed and Anna was happy with the final position of the teeth, she took a mould of my teeth and use this to make a custom fixed retainer. I fixed retainer is simply a thin wire that is custom shaped to my teeth and fitted behind my front teeth to hold them in place following orthodontic treatment. it’s very important to have a retainer following any teeth straightening treatment as teeth have a natural tendency to move back into their previous position. At our practice I make sure that every patient is monitored for a minimum of 12 months following fitting of the retainer. this is to make sure the teeth don’t start to move after treatment, since the majority of adult patients that we see for braces treatment come to us because their teeth have started moving following previous treatments, because they were not fitted with a fixed retainer or given any advice on retention.
After having the fixed retainer fitted took a short period of time to adjust to it but after a few days I didn’t notice any different. after having the fix retainers fitted another mould was taken of my teeth to make a custom removable retainer which looks like a thin plastic gum-shield this fits snugly over my teeth and I wear it at night to provide additional support to prevent my teeth moving.
Your dentist will usually give you advice on how to put your retainers in your mouth. I usually advise to press it in with your thumbs and don’t bite down on your retainers as this could crack or damage them. you may have a slight lisp the first time you wear your removable retainers but after a few days you will get used to it.
When you have a fixed retainer placed is virtually impossible to floss your teeth as there is a wire in the way so it is very important that you see our hygienist regularly to get your teeth cleaned following any orthodontic treatment. The best way to clean between your teeth when you have a fixed retainer in place is to use interdental brushes or interdental sticks, your hygienist will demonstrate how to use these in order to maintain a good oral hygiene routine.
In the future I may consider having my teeth whitened as do many patients following orthodontic treatment.
