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Teeth No Longer Touching After Using Invisalign Retainer?
asked 1 year ago by theempire385
Latest answer by Gerilyn Alfe, DMD
Question viewed 865 times
Tags: bite, molars, retainer
I finished my invisalign treatment in January of 2010 and I have been wearing my invisalign retainer every night since then. After I finished my treatment my teeth looked perfect and all of my teeth touched each other. However, I was a given a retainer that did not cover the back molars. The molars are now the only teeth that touch when I do not have my retainer in. The pictures are of me biting down and clearly none of my teeth are touching. Should I just stop wearing the retainer?
3 answers to Teeth No Longer Touching After Using Invisalign Retainer?
+2
Teeth not touching after retainer wear post-Invisalign
Since your teeth touched after your treatment was completed this problem likely has nothing to do with Invisalign. It may have to do with retainer design. If the very back molars are not included in a full-coverage retainer they will "erupt' and be the only teeth touching. A new retainer may be needed which allows all the teeth to re-establish a bite. If you have no retainer at all you may see your teeth get crooked again so that is not the best solution.
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+2
Need new retainer
Ideally the retainer should cover all of the teeth (clear invisalign type retainer, or none of the teeth (traditional colored plastic and wire retainer. Sounds lke you need to get a different type of retainer
Robert Waxler, DMD, MS
Saint Louis Orthodontist
Saint Louis Orthodontist
+1
Teeth shifting
A wire/plastic retainer (called a "Hawley") will hold the teeth in place front to back, but allow them to touch on the biting surfaces. This may be a good option for you to allow the teeth to settle into a bite for you and then if fine tuning is necessary, your dentist can probably accomplish that for you pretty easily.
Gerilyn Alfe, DMD
Chicago Cosmetic Dentist
Chicago Cosmetic Dentist