I finished my Invisalign treatment and am in the process of moving. I’m wearing the last pair of aligners now. Is there a procedure for this? Do I just be done with the aligners or do I need to find an Invisalign provider for some post-treatment?
Dani
Dear Dani,
Almost everyone needs to wear a retainer for a period of time after their orthodontic treatment. Otherwise, your teeth could shift out of position again. They need time to truly adjust to their correct position. You have a few options. First, you could find an Invisalign dentist who can help you with an Invisalign styled retainer. Another option is to see a regular dentist who can give you a basic retainer. They are simple and any dentist can do them. A third option is to use your final aligner as a retainer, but you’ll need to do it systematically.
First, wear the aligner all the time, as you’ve normally been for a month. Then, try wearing it every night for a couple of months. From there, try every other night. You’ll need to pay attention to whether your teeth are shifting about this point. You do that by noticing if they are a little more difficult to get back in. If that happens, then you need to go back to wearing them every night for a few weeks and then you can try again.
Once they’re stable at that time distance, you can try them again wearing them every few days at night, then eventually once a week. Take each step slowly making sure to check for shifting. Once you feel you’re done, you can stop wearing them, but keep them around to periodically check.
You can also use your final aligners as teeth whitening trays. Just ask your dentist to provide you with the gel and then wear it while you’re doing your retainer time until you have a teeth whitening level you are happy with.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.