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You may have seen ceramic and metal dental braces patients wearing rubber bands at some point during the course of their treatment. If you or your child is about to undergo Houston braces treatment at one of our family dentist offices in Houston and South Houston, then you might be wondering if you (or your child) will also have to wear rubber bands. In this article, we will answer this question while also explaining the importance of rubber bands. 

What Are Rubber Bands Used For

Rubber bands are primarily used as a way to correct your bite, specifically if you have an overbite or an underbite. These rubber bands apply additional pressure to your jaw in order to guide it to the right placement in a more accelerated manner than your braces would without rubber bands.  

Wearing Rubber Bands With Your Dental Braces

Because rubber bands accelerate the correction of your malocclusion, getting to this phase in your Houston braces treatment is a pretty big, exciting deal! They are a major milestone in your overall treatment, but not everyone has to wear rubber bands. Typically, if our Houston braces patients don’t have an overbite or underbite, but do experience crowding in their teeth, then they may not need rubber bands. However, they are still an option that we will recommend based on each individual patient case. 

Similar to wearing retainers after braces, it is critical to the success of your treatment that you wear your rubber bands as directed if you want to complete your braces treatment on time (or, in some cases, earlier!). Most of the time, our South Houston family dentists recommend you wear your rubber bands at least 10-12 hours a day, but in some cases, we recommend wearing them for 24 hours except for when you’re eating, brushing your teeth, and flossing. It isn’t rare for patients to begin wearing bands 24/7 and then switch to just a few hours a day.

Our Houston Family Dentists Will Recommend Rubber Bands If Your Treatment Requires It

If you’re about to undergo braces treatment, or if you are curious about if/when you might need rubber bands, then please book an appointment with us so we can perform a teeth cleaning before your dental benefits expire and evaluate your bite before making a recommendation. We can’t wait to embrace your smile!

Approaching the end of your Houston braces treatment is an exciting feeling because you will be able to show off a gorgeous smile really soon! However, giving you a new smile doesn’t just finish there. In fact, once your treatment is completed, you will have to switch to wearing orthodontic retainers for an extended period of time, but don’t worry–they are more flexible than dental braces. In this article, we will explain the importance of wearing retainers after your Houston braces treatment.

Your Teeth Will Tend To Shift Again

Both children and adults who wear braces will experience this. This occurs because the teeth haven’t had a chance to fully settle into the soft tissues of your mouth. Remember that, for at least an entire year, your teeth have been 100% reliant on metal, ceramic, or even plastic from your Invisalign Clear Aligners in order to hold them in place. To mitigate this and let them settle into their new alignment, you should wear your retainers day and night for at least a year, but this will also depend on the individual’s case.

Retainers Protect Your Investment

Wearing retainers after completing your Invisalign, metal, or ceramic Houston braces treatment is a sure way to make your investment in your smile well worth it. As we age, our teeth naturally try to shift again, and as frustrating as this is, remember that your dental braces prevented (or got rid of) some serious complications with your dental health. By diligently wearing your retainers day and night and then transitioning to only wearing them most nights, you will strengthen your teeth so they remain straight and healthy for years and years to come. You might even get to enjoy your new, perfectly aligned smile for the rest of your life.

Get Fitted For Retainers at Centra Dental In Houston And South Houston

When you’re near the end of your Houston braces treatment, please book an appointment with us so we can confirm that you’re ready for your braces to be removed soon. At this appointment, we will also take impressions of your new smile so we can fit you for your retainers and educate you and how to wear them. We can’t wait to embrace your smile!

After Houston braces, our patients have to wear orthodontic appliances known as retainers in order to maintain the new alignment of their teeth. There are several types of retainers available, each with different pros and cons. However, they all have one thing in common besides protecting your teeth from shifting again: they need to be worn properly in order to maximize their effectiveness. When you wear your retainers and take proper care of them, your teeth will be straight and healthy for years and years to come!

Wearing Your Retainers As Instructed

We understand that wearing retainers after finishing Houston braces treatment is quite the dread, but it is absolutely critical if you want to enjoy your brand new smile for years to come. Otherwise, your teeth will quickly go back to their old, misaligned position. We typically recommend that our patients at our Houston and South Houston family dentist offices wear their retainers for 24 hours a day (except when eating) for at least 6 months to a year. However, this will depend on the individual. Once this initial time period is over, you should wear your retainers every night while you sleep.

Cleaning Your Orthodontic Retainers

There are different types of retainers available to our patients. Much like our Houston braces, which type we recommend to you depends on your particular case. Since you spend much of your time wearing your retainers in the first phase, they will collect whatever is on your teeth, including bacteria, plaque, and tartar. If illness-causing bacteria such as streptococcus is left to accumulate on your retainers, you may get sick with an infection, so it is imperative you clean them every day. 

Traditional Hawley retainers and transparent removable retainers may be brushed with a soft-bristle toothbrush after each meal. You may also be able to soak your retainers in a cleaning solution, but be sure to ask us for recommendations so you’re keeping your retainers in tip-top condition. We can also discuss how long you should soak them for, as you don’t want to soak them too long. Soaking Hawley retainers for too long may corrode the metal components.

Bonded retainers, on the other hand, are best cleaned by flossing them when you floss your teeth since this type of retainer is glued to the back of your teeth. Our Houston and South Houston family dentists will be more than happy to teach you the proper flossing technique as well.

Visit Our Family Dentist In Houston And South Houston To Learn About Proper Retainer Care

If you are about to wear retainers or have been wearing them for some time, then please book an appointment with us so we can check on your alignment and assess how well you are taking care of your teeth. We will help keep your perfect smile for years to come!

Most people associate orthodontic appliances such as braces with younger children and teenagers, but adults can–and should–wear braces as well if they have a malocclusion! In this article, we will explain why adults should get Houston braces and break down the different options we offer for our adult patients.

What Is A Malocclusion?

We use the term “malocclusion” to refer to a “bad bite”. There are different kinds of malocclusions, such as overbites, underbites, and even crowding teeth. Even though Houston braces are seen as a way to make some cosmetic upgrades to your smile, this is only a small part of our overall Houston braces treatment at our Houston and South Houston family dentist offices. The main reason people need to undergo Houston braces treatment is that an untreated malocclusion leads to other lifelong dental health problems.

What Problems Does A Bad Bite Cause?

If a malocclusion isn’t corrected, the following are some of the complications that may follow:

• Migraines
• Tooth decay
• Gum disease
• Lisp
• Difficulty chewing and digesting food

Our Houston Braces Can Correct A Bad Bite And Promote Healthy Teeth

Our Houston family dentist, which treats families in Houston and South Houston, offers three types of dental braces treatments: Invisalign, Ceramic Dental Braces, and Metal Dental Braces.

Invisalign Clear Aligners

As their name suggests, Invisalign Clear Aligners are transparent. Invisalign treatment consists of clear trays that are molded differently in order to match up with your teeth as they shift. Over the course of treatment, the plastic aligners will gradually shift your teeth to the correct alignment. Though suitable for mostly mild cases, there are some benefits and drawbacks of Invisalign for adults to consider.

Ceramic Dental Braces

Our ceramic South Houston braces are designed to blend in with the natural color of the teeth, thanks to the ceramic brackets that are cemented to the teeth. This type of Houston braces treatment is efficient in treating moderate cases and is rather comparable to metal Houston braces.

Metal Houston Braces

Metal Houston braces are the traditional type of braces treatment that we recommend, as they have been available since the 19th century, with major updates since then. Metal dental braces are the most versatile braces treatment for adults.

Adult Dental Braces at Centra Dental

If you’re an adult who wants to improve the appearance of your smile while simultaneously promoting good oral health, then please book an appointment with us at our Houston or South Houston offices so we can begin with your Houston braces evaluation. We look forward to embracing your smile!