I Already Had Braces, Can I Have It Again?

The short answer is yes. Many people come and see us because the teeth have moved after their orthodontic treatment, usually because they have stopped wearing retainers. They asked what they can do, and the answer is that the only thing that will make their teeth straight again is another course of orthodontic treatment.

The good news is that generally depending on how bad things have gotten, a much shorter time frame is needed to straighten the teeth the last time. In fact in the vast majority of cases, the teeth are realigned and your smile returns in 6 months or less using clear aligners such as Invisalign or Sure-Smile. Because treatment times are usually shorter the cost associated with orthodontic retreatment especially with clear aligners is lower.

There is however 1 very important fact to remember before embarking on this process. We know that approximately a third of patients who have had orthodontic treatment suffer some form of relapse in the future. If your teeth have moved again after orthodontic treatment, then we know with a high degree of certainty that if you do not wear your retainers your teeth will move back again.

This does not mean that you will have to wear your retainers every night for the rest of your life, but I would certainly recommend that if you do undergo clear aligner treatment to restore your smile that you commit to lifetime retainer wear. That could be some kind of fixed retainer, or removal retainers that need to be worn every night for the first 12 months, but after that may only need to be worn once or twice a week, but they do need to be worn. I am afraid to say that if you are not prepared to commit to this then I would not recommend any form of orthodontic retreatment again.

If you are still interested, then clear aligner therapy such as Invisalign or Sure-Smile are often the most efficient way to restore your smile. If this is of interest to you then please call our reception team on 07 4942 3272, and we will help you organise your consultation to get you on your journey to realign your smile again.

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