Clear aligners - what happens now?

[mambojambodothetango]

Coming to the end of a 24 week programme with clear aligners (not Invisalign but similar). At my last appointment I asked dentist to confirm what the next steps are - I'd signed an agreement saying I understood that some patients need to wear them at night forever and I wanted to check that was correct.

He dropped the bombshell that most people need to carry on wearing them all the time (I.e. what I've been doing for 24 weeks) forever if they don't want their teeth to slip back into their old position. I was a bit stunned and didn't argue with him at the time.

Has anyone else come across this and is he right?? I really don't want to wear them during the day forever. He advised me that it's easier to correct teeth at my age (mid 40s) than it would be if I'd left it 20 years - but that's irrelevant if I've got to wear them forever anyway. I didn't do it for cosmetic reasons (my teeth weren't too bad) but because he warned me my teeth would move more in future.

So I feel like I've been had, really.

I had fixed orthodontic braces removed about 2 years ago. I was told to wear my retainers for 3 months all the time after and then every night following that. I also had a friend who had invaslign and she wasn’t told she needed to wear the retainers in the day after the treatment.

This is not what I was told. I’m coming to the end of my treatment. I need to wear them at night forever and I’ve also been offered a metal bar behind top and bottom front teeth to keep them in place, which I will do.

ive never been told that I’ll need to wear aligned all day. I’m sure that’s not true!

Thanks - hoping that's true for me. Just feels like a colossal waste if money to have teeth slide back unless you basically agree to wearing them forever!

I've just finished a course of braces. My orthodontist told me to wear retainers full time for a week then nightly after that. There's some evidence that wearing them part time is just as effective as full time.

A metal bar? Tell me more.

I've just finished 24 weeks of Invisalign. I need to wear the retainers 12-15 hours a day for the next six months, and at night forever after that. Clear and upfront from the start.

Same as above for me with Invisalign

You will have to keep wearing the retainers but only at night time! You can get special ones made but I can't remember the brand. It's just part of my routine now. It's good in some ways as protects my teeth from grinding. I do sometimes give myself a night off every month of so but it feels wrong!!

I had 20 weeks of Invisalign. I stopped once I was happy. Think the dentist would have wanted me to do another 10 weeks but I was happy and bored with it

I've worn retainers at night since and they haven't gone back and are nicely straight still. It's been 18 months now.

I have a metal bar as well as night time retainers.

I was offered the fixed metal bar retainer behind my front teeth - I declined as didn’t want something stuck there permanently. I just wear the retainers at night and my teeth have stayed in place fine so far (did the treatment about 5 years ago now). If I miss a couple of nights (I’ve had some hospital stays where I haven’t had them, and don’t always take them eg for weekends away) then I can tell they’ve started to move back, but after a couple of nights with the retainer again then all fine.

I have been a bit rubbish with the 12-15 hours; it has been more like 8-10 hours (so basically just at night) but my teeth are fine and have stayed in place. The dentist said the highest chance of remission is in the first six months, which is why he (and others it seems) advises this.

Yes - you can tell because the retainer feels a bit tighter after too few hours the day before! Has always been fine by the morning though!

I've just finished Invisalign and have a fixed retainer on the inside of my teeth (metal bar) and wear retainers every night

I had Invisalign for nearly three years (lockdown supply issues) and now have a metal fixed retainer behind my teeth, top and bottom, with night time retainers - according to my orthodontist's notes I'm tapering down with a view to eventually only needing to wear it once a week. I can definitely feel a difference if I go for three nights without, so I'm proceeding with caution.

Thanks all. The metal bar us interesting - does that stay forever? How is it fixed? And also wondering if the night time retainers need the little grippers on your teeth (I.e. forever) or whether they'll be taken off first...

My dd had fixed braces and now has clear retainers. She is now down to wearing the retainers every couple of days overnight

No you should have the grippers for the retainer

Shouldn’t!!!

Mine were all taken off - they were the worst bit of Invisalign for me

Does taking them off take long and is it uncomfortable? I hated having them put on!

I reached the end of my aligner journey this week. When I'd gone through all my aligners I had all the little dots taken off my teeth and he did impressions to make fixed retainers (we'd discussed this previously and I opted for fixed retainers on the dentists recommendation). Two weeks later the retainers were bonded on the back of my teeth - they are ceramic with a wire inside. And that's it! No removable retainers at all which I am very glad about

Yes.. sigh… my teeth are crap. They’ve got to be aligned and straightened and then veneered. It’s going to cost a real fortune but apparently it’s either that or have them out when I’m even older than I am now. And, to answer your question, I’ll have to wear the damn things forever and god knows what’ll happen when I get dementia, can’t or won’t wear them and everything tanks.

How does everyone find the fixed wire? I'm going to get it when I finish my Invisalign.

I didn't find it uncomfortable, and I don't think it took long. Definitely not as bad as having them put on.

I finished Invisalign a few months ago and was told to wear the retainer full time for three months, then move to night time only.
I know some people are told full time for 6 months. But I've never read anything that says full time forever.