Vivera Retainers

Retainers are removable or fixed appliances  that prevent your teeth from drifting back into their previous position  after your braces are taken off.

Ligaments aren’t fixed

The name of the connector that attaches each tooth to a jaw bone is the periodontal ligament. Ligaments aren’t hard like bones. Instead, they are elastic. These ligaments are why orthodontic treatments can move teeth to begin with, and why they can move after treatment.   

Nothing is holding the teeth in place

When you have braces or a retainer on your teeth, the appliance is preventing your teeth from going where they might go on their own. But once any external structures are removed, your teeth are free to follow their own paths. 

Various forces act on the teeth

You’re constantly using your mouth, and whenever you bite down, you’re putting a bit of pressure on your teeth. Your tongue and talking and chomping on an apple all generate forces, however small. Over time, these forces can cause your teeth to move.   

Mouth memory lasts a long time

Those periodontal ligaments and other structures that hold the teeth in place “remember” in a sense where they once were. When the braces come off, your teeth may seek to make their way home. 

Changes in the mouth reset the balance

Suppose you lose a tooth or have one extracted. Your other teeth are going to notice they have room to move and may drift over into the gap. Not all changes to your mouth are as dramatic as a lost tooth, but growth and age-related changes to your mouth will also change how your teeth relate to one another.