Relapse
Sometimes after treatment is completed a patient's teeth may move partially back into their pre treatment position. This is relapse. Relapse usually occurs on the lower front teeth, which may crowd up, although it may occur with other teeth. Sometimes a tooth that was originally severely rotated may relapse. Some spaces may open up some. Proper and continued wear of retainers may prevent this from occurring. We usually have patients wear retainer's full time for 6 months to a year. This gives the teeth a chance to stabilize in their new positions. We then usually have patients wear retainers at night. However, there is no magical number of years of retainer wear that will guarantee stability. The longer a person wears retainers the better the chance the teeth will stay put. It has been documented that no matter how long a person wears retainers, the teeth will always move and settle somewhat after the patient stops wearing them. Retainers do not last forever. Even well kept retainers wear out and need replacement eventually.

We feel when the wisdom teeth come in or try to come in they may cause some shifting of the teeth. We feel it is important to wear the retainer at least until the wisdom teeth are removed or all the way in and as long as possible after that. Not all patients have wisdom teeth.