How to Care for Your Smile After Invisalign or Six‑Month Smiles Treatment

When you’ve finished your orthodontic treatment such as Invisalign or Six Month Smiles, you might think that the days of worrying about your teeth are over. While you won’t be following a strict treatment plan anymore, there are still some steps you need to do to help ensure your teeth remain healthy and beautiful following orthodontics.

In order to keep your teeth looking beautiful and healthy, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow. These include:

- Wearing a retainer at night time

- Brushing twice a day

- Visiting the dentist for checkups

- Visiting the dental hygienist

- Looking out for sign of bruxism

Let’s look at these steps in more detail.

Do I have to wear a retainer after orthodontics?

Perhaps the most important step after orthodontics is to make sure that you are always wearing your retainer as instructed. Your teeth will return to their former position if you don’t wear a retainer at night time. This is because your teeth will want to naturally adjust to the easiest possible alignment, and this isn’t usually perfectly straight. If you’re worried about forgetting, ask your dentist about a bonded retainer.

How do I keep my teeth looking beautiful?

When you stop wearing your braces or aligners, we hope that you’ll be in love with your new smile. Lots of patients will have teeth whitening after treatment to further enhance the results of a dazzling and straight smile.

You should also make sure that you are brushing twice a day and flossing daily. You’ll find that brushing and flossing become much easier when you have straight teeth, so there will be no excuses for skipping this step.

Thankfully, patients who invest in their smile with a treatment like orthodontics are more likely to take good care of their teeth.

How often should I visit the dentist after orthodontics?

You should visit the dentist every six months following your treatment, or sooner if you’re experiencing any issues. Don’t wait for your next treatment if you’re in pain or think something might be amiss. It’s far better to visit sooner than to potentially ignore an issue that isn’t going to get better by itself.

You can also add in regular trips to the dental hygienist to stay on top of dental staining and ensure your teeth are not only perfectly aligned but also perfectly healthy.

Why is teeth grinding a risk after orthodontics?

Teeth grinding – also known as bruxism – is a particular risk after orthodontics as it could cause your teeth to move out of the correct alignment. You could also damage your retainer through the force of your bite.

If you wake up with a sore jaw or if you’ve noticed damage to your retainer, this could be a sign that you are grinding your teeth at night. Visit the dentist for further advice and support, and this issue needs to be addressed quickly to prevent damage to your teeth.

Anything else I need to know?

After orthodontics, you’ll be able to eat a wide range of foods again and you’ll be able to eat and drink without worrying about your braces or aligners. This is good news, but you should be wary about how this impacts your oral health.

Lots of patients manage to cut down on snacking during their treatment and will also avoid certain foods like chewy sweets due to the risk to their braces or aligners. We recommend keeping this up after treatment, as these are habits that could cause damage to your teeth in the long term.