[lesi]

My 17 year old son's orthodontic treatment was finished after two and a half years of treatement when he was 14. He then wore a retainer after that. The orthodontist suggested he wear them at night as much as he could even saying that he (the orthodontist) still wears his retainer. My son has followed this advice.
My concern is that recently the bottom teeth started to shift and look quite misaligned. I took him to another orthodontist who suggested my son begin treatment again with a permanent retainer to be put in once the orthodontic treatment is complete. Well, I went back to the original orthodontist who restarted the orthodontic treatment free of charge. Literally within a day, we noticed that our son's teeth were shifting back to their correct position.
At twenty-two days of treatment (two days ago), one of the braces fell off. When my son returned yesterday for the repair, the technician began to file down the sides of his teeth "to make room" . When my son was done, he came out with the brace repaired and the usual wire attached to the braces. Instead of it being straight , it was now twirled all across the four front teeth. Please forgive my non-technical description, but I am very concerned that they are ruining my son's teeth and don't know what to do. Is this the correct course of treatment?. I need help

[alkalineangel]

I had this with my braces when I was younger. Never knew exactly why they did it, but I can plainly remember what you describe. Also it was common for the glue to wear out and a brace to come loose. I have to go in and have my retainer re-cast every so often, as my mouth changed and grew. I still wear mine at night over 12 years later...

[jillianleab]

It sounds like he had IPR and had a wire tie applied:

If you ever use wire tiebacks with your orthodontic wires, here's a tip that can save you and your patients some time. If you have a single wire tieback and it breaks, you may have a space or two open somewhere. You then have to spend one or two appointments reclosing the space. All you have to do to prevent this is to use two wire ties for the same tieback. You just use two ligature ties held together while doing the tieback.

For some reason they won't break!

From here: Tips on delivery systems, wire tiebacks, and tricky ligatures | June 2007 | Orthodontic Products

Wire ties, it's my understanding, are used to apply additional force to certain teeth (to get them to move properly).

Or it could be a laceback, which you can see a pic of here (scroll down a bit):

Photo Gallery

What sort of retainer did your son have? If he had an essex (clear tray, looks like a tooth whitening tray, or invisalign) it could have become warped due to heat, or just lost it's effectiveness after such a long time frame passed. There is some debate about how long they last and if they are good for the long-term. If he had a hawley retainer (traditional, with a wire that runs across his teeth), the wire could have bent, causing his teeth to shift. Also, our teeth move throughout our lives, and having braces off at 14 could mean the filaments had not "set" and really anchored his teeth into place. Hopefully this time, since he's older, they will.

I'm probably not supposed to plug other boards, but, the link I gave you with the pic is a really great orthodontic site for adults and older teens. I don't mean to detract from this board, but it's sole focus is orthodontics and there is a lot of really great information on there. You or your son might want to check it out.

[kristynn]

It sounds like it's correct. Teeth have a so-called "memory" and there is still a chance they return to their initial position.

You've done the right thing: went back to the first orthodentist and yes, it should be free of charge. I believe they're doing the right thing so, don't worry.

Your son should still wear the retainer for years to come. I'm still wearing mine...