While braces give you a gorgeous smile, a retainer helps you keep it that way by pushing you to practise better dental care even after you stop wearing it. And even though retainers for teeth are most usually used to keep straight teeth in place after braces, the benefits for your children when they wear their retainers properly, as per your orthodontist’s prescriptions, go well beyond that.
Wearing clear retainers may also aid with speech issues, in case you didn’t know. Meanwhile, it may be challenging to get your children to wear and take care of their retainer correctly, but understanding the benefits and how to ensure that your children accept their retainers can help your whole family go through the process more smoothly and with better marks from your orthodontist.
What Are the Benefits of Wearing a Retainer?
The majority of the time, braces are completed with the assistance of dental retainers. This is because teeth might move back to their native positions once braces are removed. As a result, retainers are worn at night (or for an extended period) may assist keep your teeth straight.
Dispose of Bacteria With Chewing
Straighter teeth are simpler to clean, cause less plaque accumulation, and result in fewer cavities (AAPD). However, there may be more factors at play that you aren’t aware of.
Children who have straight teeth and a good bite will have an easier time chewing their meals. They acquire more nutrients from their meal because they chew more thoroughly. And one advantage of being able to chew food entirely is that it leads to more saliva being produced. In addition, increased saliva production implies increased levels of digesting enzymes, which help to reduce plaque accumulation and the likelihood of developing cavities.
Facilitates the Simplification of Diabetes Management
Dentists say using retainers properly helps maintain teeth straight and reduces the chance of developing poor general or oral health. Meanwhile, diabetes may worsen one’s dental health, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). As a result, using a retainer appropriately, along with good oral hygiene practices like flossing, brushing, and washing with post-braces products, may help prevent diabetes-related problems.
Enhances the Ability to Take Deep Breaths
Retainers also have the unheralded benefit of improving breathing for specific children. According to the Consumer Guide to Dentistry, some kinds of retainers are used to straighten teeth or align jaws and aid those who have difficulty breathing or those who snore at night.
Facilitates the Removal of Speech Impediments
Confident children use clear retainers to aid in their speech as well. Retainers, according to KidsHealth, may assist children’s tongue positioning so that they can appropriately form sounds as they build their vocabulary.
Making a Retainer a Part of Your Daily Routine
Remember that everyone’s time to establish a new habit is different, so making it exciting for your kids might make it simpler to form a new habit quicker. So, here are a few pointers to help your child remember to wear their retainer and not lose it:
- Keep the retainer in its case and get a large carrying case. This is because your youngster is less likely to forget a large bag than a little plastic case if it has their favourite action hero on it or of their favourite colour.
- If your kid has a retainer case, include a letter with it. It’s enjoyable for your youngster to read, and it can serve as a gentle reminder to take out their retainer before going to bed.
- Just as with keys, it’s best to keep the retainer case where it belongs. Brightly coloured cases are also less likely to be ignored or forgotten during busy periods of the day.
- For the first week, even if your children have outgrown the tooth fairy, it’s still delightful for them to find tiny presents beneath their pillows while they wear their retainer.
