How Long After Invisalign Do I Need a Retainer?

Hello there,You would have to wear the retainer indefinitely.  Another option would be having a permanent piece of wire placed behind your teeth that would keep your teeth aligned and prevent the need for a retainer.  That area would be more likely to gather food and subsequently bacteria growth, so it would require extra special care to keep clean. 

First, you are a very pretty women just as you are.  If you do want to improve your smile I suggest instead of moving teeth you consider orthopedically growing your jaw using the DNA Appliance and Epigenetic Orthodontics. The DNA is only worn 12-14 hours a day and does not need lifetime retention.It will also help the dark areas under your eyes.It will create a wider fuller smile as well.

The retention phase of treatment comes after tooth
movements using the aligners have been completed.
Due to the tendency of teeth to shift in the human
dentition, you can expect that your teeth will
naturally begin to shift back to their original position
once your prescribed course of clear aligner treatment
is complete. For this reason, retention is a lifelong
commitment and you MUST follow the retention
instructions prescribed by your doctor. some instances call for a lingual bar that is bonded to the back of your front teeth. These are rigid metal
reinforcements placed behind your teeth to prevent
them from moving. In addition, you will need to wear retainers
indefinitely until your doctor tells you that you no
longer need them. Retainers are typically worn full time,
at least 22 hours a day, for the first few weeks to a few months of use.
After that initial retention time, you may, with permission
from your doctor, start to decrease the amount of
time during which you wear your retainers by
approximately two hours a day for each week.
After a few months of gradually wearing the retainers
less frequently throughout the day, you may, with
permission from your doctor, begin wearing your
retainers at night only. Please keep in mind that
decreasing the amount of time during which you
wear your retainers depends on the retainers being
comfortable and loose when placed in the mouth. If
your retainers feel tight or you feel pressure, you
must revert back to and repeat the schedule of the
previous week.
You must wear your retainers every night for the first
year of use. After the first year, you may, with
permission from your doctor, begin wearing them
every other night, provided that they are loose and
fitting well; otherwise, you must continue to wear
them every night. You should bring your retainers to all future followup
appointments so that your doctor can assess their
fit and function and make adjustments as necessary

If you would like your teeth to stay perfect after you finish Invisalign, a properly fitting retainer is essential. You don't have to wear the retainer all of the time but at least 3 to 4 nights per week. If you ever see your teeth shifting or space re-opening, then you can increase to 6-7 nights per week. Also, if you do not like wearing the retainer while you sleep, you can wear it during the day instead for around 6-8 hours.
Retainers are like orthodontic insurance. If you wear a properly fitting retainer every night, your teeth will not shift! If you don't wear a retainer, it is like throwing the cards up in the air. You don't know how they will land. For some people (the lucky ones), teeth don't shift; but for a lot of people, the teeth will shift over time. 
I still wear a retainer every night. Yes, I have to because I'm an orthodontist. But even if I wasn't an orthodontist, I like my smile and want it stay like this for the rest of my life, and retainers are the answer.

Hello,
I love that you are looking at all the commitments you need to make before you start treatment. A fun way to say it is “you only have to wear your retainer for as long as you want straight teeth”. But joking aside, teeth shift all your life. Yes, retainers are a life-time commitment. 
For the bottom teeth, sometimes there is an option of placing a fixed retainer that is glued behind your teeth, then you would not have to worry about remembering to wear a retainer. But on the top, you have to wear your retainer at nights indefinitely. 
Best,
Dr Sepi Torkan

Retainers after orthodontic treatment serve to retain your results. Meaning that, as long as you want to keep your current results, you must wear your retainers (aka forever). There are options to have permanent retainers put in behind the teeth (small wires that are bonded out of sight), but these retainers only serve to retain the front teeth, not the back. Most patients who do get permanent retainers will also need a removable retainer at night to retain the back teeth. The permanent retainer helps particularly when teeth are spaced out, as they have a higher tendency to shift back (relapse). I should say that some people do get lucky where their teeth do not shift after not wearing retainers, but that is not the case for the majority of patients.

Retainers are extremely important and necessary after any type of orthodontic tooth movement whether it is Invisalign or Traditional Metal Braces.  After  your teeth have been moved for any length of time, there is a period of stability that needs to occur to allow for the bone and gum tissue to heal around the new positions.  The retainers are a gently reminder for the teeth to stay in their new position and stabilize.  Research has shown that it takes up to 12 months for this to occur.  We recommend retainers be worn at night for life to insure that your smile lasts forever.  While your teeth will never revert back to their original position, there could be some shifting that occurs naturally and overtime you will get some relapse.  Consistent and lifetime wear will prevent this "natural" tendency from occuring.  Best Wishes on your new smile.

As a experienced invisalign provider I understand the issues you face with gap closure on the front teeth. A tooth in the front that has a gap is called a diastema. The diastema when closed with invisalign or any orthodontic treatment is very hard to retain closed. The reason behind this the ligaments around the teeth have memory and they like to go where they used to be. The answer to this problem is to retain the teeth in its newly formed position. The new position would be retained one way through a retainer. The second way it can be retained is by fixed retainer that doesn't not need to be removed or lastly by placing veneers or crowns to close the gap. Some dentist give retainers but it is hard for a patient to be compliant and wear these retainers daily. The easiest solution for this is bond a fixed retainer to the back of the teeth that had the gap. This is easy because it cost effective, the patient does not have to remember to wear it, and the gap should not come back. The only disadvantage is the patient has to floss it using floss threader since the floss can not go directly through. The restorative way of fixing a gap is by placing veneers or crowns. This is a great treatment with combined with invisalign or braces or not with any orthodontic treatment. The teeth roots are still in the same position so the veneer will only change where the crown of the tooth is located. These are three great solutions regarding retention but determination should ultimately be made with help of a cosmetic dentist. 

Hi Hasila,
thank you for the great question.
Wearing a retainer after Invisalign treatment is very important and each case is very different.
Sometimes patients have to wear their retainers for the rest of train life and sleep with it.
In other cases people will be wearing them every other night etc.
It is very important to consult with your dentist and ask questions about the retainers before starting Invisalign treatment. If a retainer is needed and you are not willing to wear it after it does not make sense to spend any time and money on the orthodontic treatment.
At the same time most of the people need some sort of protection - a night guard or a retainer to wear at night since teeth have a tendency to shift over time. This is not related to the fact that you had or had not have an orthodontic treatment before.
I hope this helps.
Dr. Mina Levi 

If you want results to last, you should wear retainers every night. I totally understand that at this time it sounds overwhelming. I felt the same way before I did Invisalign for myself. Trust me, I still wear retainers every night (skipping occasionally), years after I finished my orthodontic treatment. It feels totally normal and does not bother me a bit.