Three Reasons Why Some People Lose Their Straightened Teeth After Childhood Braces

Having braces in your youth isn't always a positive memory for people. Unfortunately, while braces in your childhood can do a lot to improve your smile, you may not end up carrying all of those benefits into the future. If you regularly do one or more of these bad habits, you could end up looking at crooked teeth again in the mirror.

Grinding Teeth

Grinding your teeth is a serious problem for people whether or not they have braces. The simple act of grinding your teeth can help to make teeth become crooked.

The reason for this is that when you bite and grind, you put excessive amounts of pressure on a select number of teeth. Those teeth can't move downward into your gums, so instead, they get pushed out of alignment. This happens gradually over time, so you might not notice until the damage is already done.

Biting

Do you bite your nails, chew on your fingers, or enjoy chewing on the end of a pencil? These are all habits that can make your teeth become crooked. It's best to give them up in order to avoid losing all the progress that you made with braces. Of course, if your teeth have already become crooked, then you'll need to look to a solution instead.

No Retainer

Most people who have their braces taken off are given a retainer. This retainer is designed to keep your teeth in the position that they're in by making micro adjustments at the end of every day. However, some people don't get retainers, while others simply skip using them.

If you have a retainer and it no longer fits, that's an indication that your teeth have become quite crooked since your braces were taken off. If you never had a retainer in the first place, then that's likely the source of your problem. Thankfully, if you choose to get braces again, you can ensure that you receive a retainer at the end.

If your teeth are crooked these days, you can look to invisible braces for help. They're a lot like a retainer, except that you receive several pairs of them to help nudge your teeth back to where they belong, gradually. Talk to an orthodontist and sign up for invisible braces to get the smile back that you worked so hard for as a child. And then, remember to never engage in these bad habits so that you don't lose it all over again.