Can Teeth Move After Braces Come Off?

Teeth can move at any age or anytime if you let them!!! 

Unfortunately, the reality is that even after orthodontic treatment is complete, your teeth are still likely to move. Unless however, you are to wear a retention appliances for 6-12 hours nightly for as long as you'd like to keep them where they are.

Why does this happen? There are a few ways to think about it: 

 

·         Changes in the mouth reset the balance – Suppose you lose a tooth or have one extracted. Your other teeth are going to notice they have room to move and may drift over into the gap. Not all changes to your mouth are as dramatic as a lost tooth, but growth and age-related changes to your mouth will also change how your teeth relate to one another. 

·         Ligaments are not fixed – The periodontal ligament is the name of the connector that attaches each tooth to a jawbone. Ligaments are elastic, not hard like bone. Therefore, orthodontic treatments can move teeth to begin with, and why they can move after treatment.  

·         Various forces act on the teeth – You are constantly using your mouth, and whenever you bite down, you are putting a bit of pressure on your teeth. Your tongue, talking, whistling, chewing gum, and eating food, all generate forces. Over time, this force can cause your teeth to move.  

·         Nothing is holding the teeth in place – When you have braces or a retainer on your teeth, the appliance is preventing your teeth from unwanted movement. Once any external structures are removed, your teeth are free to move again. Therefore, it is important to wear your retainers after treatment.

·         Mouth memory– The periodontic ligaments and other structures that hold the teeth in place “remember” where they once were. Once braces are off, your mouth remembers where the teeth were originally and may try to return.

-LS