Question about how to wear my retainer

[BigCheese101]

So im finally getting my braces off this week and i'm extremely excited. I have heard (as well as assumed) that once your braces are removed you must wear your retainer 24/7 for anywhere from 3 months to a year. My question is this; how long can i have it consistantly out before i seriously have to be worried about my teeth shifting (a couple hours, a day, a few days)? because for the amount of people i see daily wearing braces, i have NEVER come in contact with someone wearing a retainer..so clearly everyone is ignoring their ortho's advice when told to wear it 24/7. Obviously everyone is different, & some could never touch their retainer & continue to have perfect teeth while someone else could wear it religiously, remove it for a night and have a tooth shift..but in general is it ok to take it out for a few hours to go out to a bar, out with friends, out on a date, etc..?

[coconut]

Be guided by your ortho and follow his/her instructions to the letter.

[Sunny]

Great news BigCheese, hope you love your new bite and smile.

The most popular retainer is a clear aligner style, which means that you'd rarely notice it being worn ... the reason why it's so popular.

We recommend our patients wear them whenever they're not eating or drinking during their full time wear period. Most people quickly work out how long they can leave it out of their mouths, due to when it going back in, it feeling tight ... meaning it's been left out a little too long.

We are using bonded retainers on both upper and lower teeth, for the majority of our patients and this means they don't need to wear their retainers full time as long, as their front teeth are being held in place by the bonded retainers.

Ask your ortho what s/he wants you to do and follow those instructions carefully.

Good luck!