Bonded retainers

[gdriftr]

Hi,

I'll be finished with refinements in a couple of months and am thinking about retainers.

I've got a decent idea of the different options and pros and cons but I still have a couple of questions about bonded retainers:

- If the wire only retains the front 6 teeth, what happens to the molars?

- previously my teeth were protruding and have been pulled back with the braces (the front 4 were pulled back the most, but the canines were also pulled back somewhat). With bonded retainers only on the front 6 teeth, is it possible that these teeth could all move forward again together, or is it unlikely for them to move in a group like that?

Thanks for any comments. Of course I'll discuss this with the ortho, but any extra info is very helpful.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

A nice "socked" in bite in the posterior is what usually holds the molars in place. However, this is going to depend on whether you've had a lot of expansion as a part of your treatment plan, as posterior expansion isn't that stable if overdone.

You ask a good question about the front 6 teeth going forward. This is possible, but unlikely to happen if the correct root position has been achieved and you don't have any habits like thumbsucking, tongue thrusting, etc. Keep in mind that proper root position is one of the most missed aspects of Invisalign treatment.

The type of retainer does depend on how your teeth started off in the beginning. There's no standard cookbook fix. Hopefully you can get more information from your orthodontist. Good luck!

[gdriftr]

Hi. Thanks very much for the info. I'll also ask my ortho about it when I next see them.