What happens after Invisalign treatment?
After having the Invisalign treatment you will be required to wear a retainer. This will help prevent your teeth from moving back into their original place.
Why do my teeth move back?
Once your teeth have been straightened out they will gradually begin to move back to where they were before. You will be able to see this happening within the first few weeks of finishing your Invisalign treatment.
Before using Invisalign some of your teeth would have leaned on another tooth. Now that your teeth are straight they will not anything to lean on they will begin to slowly edge towards another tooth to lean on.
Teenagers will find their teeth will move back. This is because their bone is still soft; as you grow older the bone, in you jaw, will become denser and less prone of your teeth moving back.
What are retainers?
Retainers are customer-made devices, which are normally made from clear plastic and will occasionally have wire in them too. Retainers will keep the position of your teeth after using Invisalign.
There are multiple types of retainers with the most common being vacuum-formed retainer. These are made from a polypropylene or polyvinylchloride material. Other types of retainers include:
- Hawley retainers- these include a metal wire that will typically surround the six interior teeth and keep them in place.
- Fixed retainers- these typically consist of a passive wire bonded to the tongue-side of the incisors. Unlike vacuum-formed and Hawley retainers, the patient cannot remove fixed retainers.
Invisalign produce their own retainers called Vivera Retainers these are recommended for every patient after they have finished their initial Invisalign treatment.
Why use Vivera Retainers?
Vivera retainers are used after your Invisalign treatment. These are similar to vacuum-formed retainers but are made from the same state-of-the-art technology as Invisalign aligners, making them 30% stronger than ordinary retainers. With most retainers you will be required to replace them often, with Vivera retainers the need to replace them is far fewer than ordinary braces.
What happens after your finish your Invisalign treatment is just as important as during your treatment. It’s recommended that you wear your retainers for 10-12 hours a day. As time goes on you are able to wear your retainer at night.