Can a retainer close spaces?

[bracesagain2]

Hi everyone - I'm about to get my braces off! Yea!

I do have some tiny spaces, and I don't really think it could be tweaked too much more b/c my ortho has the bite lined exactly where he wants it.

However, he did say he can close the spaces with a retainer if we had to. I believe it's the Hawley (sp?) retainers.

Anyone have experience with this? I guess I can't imagine fixing anything without having my braces on. It's been quite a while with them.

Thanks!

[opamp]

I don't understand why he would not close the spaces with the braces. It makes no sense to want to do it with retainers. My orthodontist used the elastic power chains that are normally used to close gaps. If your bite is already correct and you still have gaps, it is likely because your teeth are too small. It depends on your case, but for example, my doctor shaved the side of one of my lower incisors to allow the top gaps to close more.

[bracesagain2]

Hi - thanks for your response. Well the spaces are really tiny. I guess at this point, he has the bite all perfect. I did do the shaving on the bottom of my teeth to close an upper gap, like you. And I had powerchains the whole time as well.

But like you said, my ortho did say it's just the way my teeth and gums are at this point.

I guess I was just expecting everything to be really tight and perfect.
I'll be getting my braces off next week.

[Marigold]

I have the same exact problem with a debrace date of Dec. 3rd. The ortho did IPR on one of my front lower teeth and now the gap between the teeth will not close up. The powerchain hasn't budged them one bit, and I'm worried my debrace date will be pushed back. I'm interested in the idea that a retainer can help to close the gaps.

Can you explain what is meant by shaving the bottom teeth to close an upper gap? I don't understand how shaving lower teeth has any effect on the uppers. I must be misunderstanding something.

[bracesagain2]

Hi Marigold - I had this really big gap/space on my upper left side.

So my ortho said in order to close that big, he would need to shave the bottom 4 front teeth aka IPR.

So that would make room to pull in the bottom teeth and thus allow room for the top space to close.
It ended up working b/c my top space did close up.
Sorry - I hope this makes sense. I don't think I'm explaining it very well.

But I was really upset about having to shave my teeth. That was one thing I thought my ortho said he wouldn't do when I had a consult with him and looking around for orthos. But it all turned out fine.

I do understand your concern. Did your ortho present any other options? I think it depends on your case, but I know that my ortho had to do IPR on my lower teeth to close the upper gap.

Hope this helps.

[Marigold]

Ohhh! I get what you mean now. I was thinking a gap between the teeth, but you mean a space where the two arches don't quite fit together? I have this too. My ortho said it was just the difference in my teeth, but I'm starting to have some doubts about that. I'm going to start my own thread about it so as not to hijack yours. I'll be interested to find out what your ortho says and if the retainer will help. Good luck next week!

[Catlady]

Hi! Your ortho should have closed all the spaces before getting them off (Atleast that's what mine did). I do still have some stubborn spaces that haven't closed even though I've had power chains for probably more than half of my treatment time. Some of the spaces are small and aren't really detectable if your talking to someone. As for your retainer closing spaces... that's a no. Retainers are meant to hold the teeth in place and keep them straight. There is no force that is pulling them together. From my understanding of what my ortho told me, it's almost impossible to close them. This is why my ortho put permanent retainers on the back of my teeth (Across my two front teeth and the bottom 6 teeth). This keeps them together, so over time they will not space out again. I'm still getting the removable ones too to keep my teeth aligned. I hope this all made sense!! haah! Sorry for the long response!