My retainer isn't keeping my teeth straight?

Don’t do anything. Wait til monday and let the dentist sort out.

@lightlyseared Should I leave the retainer in or am I better off without one?

If its out of shape then I would leave it out as it’s not going to be doing what it’s supposed to be doing.

@lightlyseared Alright I think I’ll leave it in just in case. Do you think I’ll need my top wisdom teeth out since they’re angled about 45 degrees outwards?

Thats a question for your dentist.

@lightlyseared alright, thanks for your answers

I truly doubt the retainer is the issue your teeth are shifting and would continue to wear it until you see the dentist.

Teeth straightening requires a huge amount of patience. Discuss your concerns with your dentist, and ask him to explain the time line and what you can expect.

@Cruiser Well I was told to wear the retainer 24/7 and I have done that. What else could cause it?

@YARNLADY They were straight 2 days ago. Then I was told to wear a retainer to keep them from shifting back to their original positions. And quite simply, the retainer isn’t doing its job as my teeth continue to shift.

@comicalmayhem I don’t know your age but I think you are close with your suggestion the wisdom teeth are causing some of this. I did 4 years of braces only to have my wisdom mess it all up.

Disclaimer: This is the opinion of a former braces and retainer wearer (still have them and they still fit 30+ years later) and a person who had their wisdom teeth come in. This is not the opinion of a person with any amount of orthodontia knowledge.

Retainers should not create small gaps, nor should they create one tooth to suddenly look longer than its counterpart. If the shifts are occurring in the front, then it is highly unlikely that it is being caused by the wisdom teeth, but the retainers.

If you are a teen, have you talked to your parents about this? They need to know what is going on, and they might be able to advise you better than us by seeing your teeth. If you are on your own, you’ll have to decide.

If it were me, I’d take the retainers out. If you can get into the Dr’s. office in the next couple of days, it is unlikely to do much harm. When my braces came off, my teeth were aligned, and the retainers kept that shape in place. Keep in mind that your situation may be different. When the braces came off and you were fitted for retainers, did the Dr. say anything about additional shifting?

@Pied_Pfeffer I’m 15 and I told my dad, but he said that the orthodontist is closed on weekends and we’ll try to go monday. The Dr. only said my teeth would shift if I don’t wear my retainer 24/7.

Thank you for the additional information. If you have been wearing the retainer(s) as instructed, there shouldn’t be a change in your teeth this quickly unless the retainer was damaged. Then again, it depends upon all sort of other potential factors.

If it is not a sure thing that you can get in to the Dr. on Monday, then it might be better to keep the retainer in for now and monitor your teeth for any other shifts. All I know is, back in the day when I had braces, they didn’t come off until the teeth were straight. Retainers were meant to kept the teeth from shifting. My siblings stopped wearing theirs too soon, and they all ended up with crooked teeth. I wore mine for years, and they have retained their shape formed by the braces.

@Pied_Pfeffer My braces didn’t come off until my teeth were straight, and just after 2 days, my teeth started to shift.
I had my bottom braces taken off 2 weeks before I got my retainer and they got crooked, but after a day of wearing a retainer on the bottom, they shifted back to normal position. My only concern is that I’ll need to get a new retainer on the top thus a new mold which means they’ll make my new retainer to fit that mold rather than one that’d fit to my straight teeth I had 2 days ago.

Ah, okay. If that is the case, I can think of about four factors that may have caused the shift. As much pain as both braces and retainers can cause, your best bet is to seek the advice of your current orthodontist as soon as you can get in. If the teeth were straight when the braces came off, then I’d stop wearing the retainers until you can see him.

There is always the chance that the braces came off too soon. I recall a couple of classmates having to wear them again, although I don’t know why. If need be, can you get a second opinion from another orthodontist or dentist?

I went in today and he adjusted and tightened the retainer, but wants to check on me next week. I might need something later to close the gap too.

Thank you for the update. What did he have to say about one tooth now appearing now appearing longer? Did you ask him about the wisdom teeth?

@Pied_Pfeffer I asked about my wisdom teeth and they weren’t concerned. My longer tooth was fixed within an hour of wearing my new retainer.

An orthodontist isn’t likely to be concerned about wisdom teeth, but good for you for asking. It falls under a dentist’s realm. As for a longer tooth being fixed within an hour of wearing a new retainer, that is highly doubtful.

It wasn’t noticeably longer to begin with, so it fixed itself pretty easily.