How To Know If Your Teeth Are Shifting After Braces
If you think your teeth are shifting after braces, then you might need to schedule an appointment with your dentist.
There are several common causes that can lead to a persons teeth shifting after braces come off. If the problem is neglected for too long, you may need braces again to straighten your smile.
In this article, I’ll discuss why your teeth are shifting after braces and what you can do to stop it. I’ll also go over orthodontic treatments that can help and how to keep your smile in alignment.
Table of Contents
Causes For Why Your Teeth Are Shifting After Braces
It’s estimated over half of people with braces will have some level of shifting after the treatment. Why your teeth are shifting after braces can be caused by several different factors.
If the shifting is neglected for too long, you may need braces all over again in order to correct the issue.
Here are the most common reasons for why your teeth are shifting after braces:
- Not Wearing Your Retainer: It’s important to wear a retainer after braces because the supporting structures around the teeth need to settle into the new position. This is the most common reason and the easiest to prevent. Just wear your retainer!
- Certain Habits: There are several lifestyle habits that can push your teeth out of alignment. These include nail biting, thumb sucking, and chewing on pens or straws. Do you best to avoid these types of habits.
- Tongue Thrusting: Tongue thrusting is a type of speech disorder that is caused by the incorrect movement of the tongue. The tongue puts force on the teeth and causes shifting.
- To learn more, check out our article Tongue Thrusting Habit article.
- Clenching and Grinding: The force that the teeth take from clenching and grinding can be why your teeth are shifting after braces.
- Our Teeth Grinding article has more information on clenching and grinding
How To Stop & Fix Your Shifted Teeth
If your teeth are moving after braces, there are a few different ways to straighten them back up. It’s important to work with your dentist or orthodontist first to determine what is causing your teeth to shift. For most people, their teeth will continue to move very slightly for their whole life.
If your teeth are shifting after braces, you can work with your dentist or orthodontist by:
- Clear Aligners: If the shifting is minimal, your dentist may be able to make clear aligner retainers to put pressure to move them back into place.
- Retainers: Sometimes all it takes to move your teeth back into position is wearing your retainer that you got right after braces.
- Dental Restorations: Your dentist may be able to make your teeth appear straighter by getting veneers or crowns on the front teeth.
- Braces: If major movements need to be done in order to straighten up your smile, then going through braces again is the only way to achieve it.
The Easiest Way to Prevent Teeth Shifting After Braces: Wear Your Retainer
There are several types of retainers that will help prevent the relapse of your teeth and cause shifting. If your teeth are moving after braces, it could be as simple as wearing your retainer to stop it.
It’s important to wear your retainer immediately after braces your braces are removed. This needs to be done at least every night. After that, your dentist or orthodontist will most likely instruct you to wear it for only a night here and there.
To learn more about retainers, check out our article The Different Types of Retainers.
What If Your Teeth Have Shifted Too Much?
If your teeth have shifted too much, you may need to go through the process of getting braces again. However, it may not be the same type of braces that are needed.
There are several different styles of braces that help straighten your smile safely. Not all types of braces will work for every smile, and since your smile has shifted, you may need a different type.
The easiest and fastest way to figure this out is by working with your dentist and orthodontist who can help find which of the following types of braces below will be best for your smile.
- Traditional Metal Braces: This is the most common style of braces that will work for every smile. The metal brackets work with a wire to promote straightening the teeth.
- Lingual Bracket Braces: This type of braces uses traditional metal braces but the brackets are on the inside of the teeth. This provides the efficient movement of metal brackets without their aesthetic appearance.
- Ceramic Braces: Using the same technique to move the teeth, ceramic braces are similar to traditional metal braces. The only difference is the metal brackets are made out of ceramic.
- Clear Aligner Therapy: Clear aligner therapy uses computerized technology to create an alignment system through plastic trays. This is becoming increasingly more popular due to the aesthetic advantage and being able to take them off.
These different styles of braces also come at varying prices. To learn more check out our How Much Do Braces Cost? article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it normal for teeth to shift after braces?
Our body changes over time, including the mouth. It is normal for the teeth to shift after braces unless you’re wearing your retainer. Most of the time the movements are small and won’t interfere with the health of your smile.
How long do teeth shift after braces?
The biggest risk of your teeth shifting after braces is in the first 2 years once they’re removed from your smile. This is due to the supporting bone, ligaments, and tissues still settling after your teeth moved. There will always be some risk for your teeth to shift throughout your lifetime.
Take Home Smile Store
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