Every situation is case dependent. Generally speaking, when braces are removed, teeth have a natural biological tendency to relapse and move slightly. When this happens, a patient may feel that the retainers fit unusually tight. This usually happens when a patient forgets to wear the retainers for a few days. Often, the feeling of tightness dissipates after a day of wearing the retainers because the teeth have been slowly repositioned back to where they were when the braces were removed. Many orthodontists will recommend if this happens, wear the retainers longer than prescribed to allow time for teeth to return to their original position (for example, if a patient normally wear the retainers at night only and he/she forgets to wear them for 3 days while on a trip, when he/she does wear them, he/she should wear them for an entire day to allow the teeth to be recaptured in their original position. He/she will likely find that the retainers won't feel tight anymore after that). Another potential reason for tightness is a distortion of the retainers. If retainers are distorted accidentally and are forced on the teeth, discomfort may occur. If this is a concern, a patient should schedule an appointment with the treating orthodontist to have the retainers examined.
