when you get braces off do you have to wear a retainer forever?

Question

someone said that and i want braces but not if i have to wear a retainer for the rest of my life

Answer 1

Forever?? LOL....It will only SEEM that way. Actually, it's only till you've pretty much stopped growing....probably just a couple or 3 years.

Answer 2

YEP!
I am on my 2nd set of braces now-- I"m 39.
I wore braces when I was 12-14 & then had a retainer that I wore, plus a permanent retainer cemented on the bottom until I was 18.
By the time I was about 25 or 26 my bottom teeth started moving again.
Luckily now I can afford to get braces again as an adult.
I have been told that the current thinking is that you wear your retainers at night "as long as you want your teeth to be straight"....
so I will wear my retainers pretty much forever (or at least until I'm in my 60s LOL)
Teeth move forward as we age, so even if you have great perfect teeth as a teen or in your 20's they will shift later on.

Answer 3

after your braces are removed a dentist tells you that you must wear the retainer 24-7 for two years after the two years you wear it at night only braces are worse than retainers it isn't that bad you just talk weird with a retainer but even after you should wear a retainer all your life even if at night only because your teeth move all the time and could move out of place after time

Answer 4

Depends on how bad your teeth were when you started and how long you had them on. Even permanent retainers that are glued in come off. Last year my permanent retainer on the bottom broke off after 9 years (I was eating hard taffy, lol). So now I have a removable one. I still wear my retainers at night. Especially since one of my teeth fell out of alignment when I wasn't wearing the top retainer.
If you still have your wisdom teeth in, it's a good idea to wear your retainer, since your teeth could potentially shift when they come in and mess up the work done.
My teeth were a mess before braces, I gladly wear my retainers every night to prevent them from shifting back to where they were, it's worth it, even after 10 years of having braces off.

Answer 5

My two sisters both have braces for a year and another year for retainers. Its a case-to-case basis. Your dentist may suggest you to wear it for a longer time if needed. Most people l know who wore braces do not have retainers for a long time. There isn't much to worry about. Happy smiling :)

Answer 6

If you want your teeth to stay nice, I think you will need to wear a retainer for 18 months or so most of the time and then while you are sleeping the rest of your life. That's what my daughters were told.

Answer 7

Don't want to wear your retainers. Then plan on getting braces again. My children's orthodontist said for the rest of their lives otherwise the teeth will shift.

Answer 8

Today they say that you have to wear it forever but when they took off my braces I asked the doctor to put on an internal retainer, it's glued to my teeth from behind them and it's there forever, I don't have to worry about my retainer anymore.

Answer 9

Just for a year or two, no longer than that. I never had braces, but I did have a retainer!

Answer 10

No you only wear a retainer for about 6 months to a year to make sure your teeth stay straight.

Answer 11

It depends at what age your orthodontic treatment started and how much time your maloccluded teeth needed to wear braces for correction (straightening). Normally it is 6-18 months that the retainer is to be worn; but some times for longer period.