Reviewed by Megan Reznik, DDS, MS
If your teeth have shifted since braces came off, a course of treatment didn’t finish as it should have, or your case is complicated enough that a general practice referred it on, Reznik Orthodontics treats retreatment and complex cases at both its Odessa and Midland offices. The consultation is free, and you do not need to have been treated here before.
Almost everyone who books this appointment arrives with an apology ready. They stopped wearing the retainer. They lost it in a house move and never replaced it. They meant to call years ago.
None of that interests an orthodontist, and none of it changes what happens next. What matters is what your teeth are doing now and what it will take to fix them.
Why teeth shift after braces
The tooth is not set in bone like a fence post. It sits in a socket held by a ligament, and that ligament remembers where the tooth used to be long after it has been moved. On top of that, lower front teeth crowd gradually with age in most people, treated or untreated. Retention is not the optional last stage of treatment; it is the part that makes the rest permanent.
Shifting also happens for reasons other than a missing retainer. A tooth lost or extracted lets neighbors drift into the gap. Grinding moves things. Gum disease loosens the support around a tooth. Wisdom teeth are often blamed and are usually not the culprit, though they get checked.
Retreatment starts with why, not with braces
Putting braces back on will straighten the teeth again. If nothing else changes, they will shift again afterwards, and you will have paid twice for the same result.
So retreatment here begins with a diagnosis of the cause. That means a full examination, records, and where the case calls for it a 3D scan to see what the roots and the bone are actually doing. If a bite problem was never fully corrected the first time, that gets identified. If gum health is the underlying issue, that gets treated first, with your dentist or a periodontist. If the original retention plan was simply never followed, then the answer is straightforward and the plan says so.
Only then does the appliance get chosen. Minor relapse is often handled with clear aligners. Larger corrections, or cases where the bite has to change, usually need fixed braces or self-ligating brackets. Cases where the jaws themselves are the problem may involve surgical orthodontics, coordinated with an oral surgeon.
Who this page is for
- Adults whose teeth crowded up again years after braces in school
- Anyone who stopped wearing a retainer and has watched a result slowly go
- Patients whose first course of treatment ended without fixing everything it was meant to
- People who have moved to the basin mid-treatment and need to finish somewhere. Transfer patients are seen at both offices, and the doctors quote for the remainder rather than a full new case
- Patients with impacted teeth, missing teeth, severe crowding or a bite that a general practice would rather refer than treat
You do not need to have been treated at Reznik Orthodontics originally, and you do not need to contact whoever treated you first. Bring what records you have if you can find them, and the practice will work from what is in your mouth if you cannot.
What it costs
Consultations are free, and the fee for retreatment is quoted the same way as any other case, in writing, after the examination. Monthly payments begin at $99, $0 down is available, and in-house payment plans carry no interest. Reznik Orthodontics is not in-network with any insurance plan, but accepts most PPO plans, bills your carrier directly, and takes assignment of benefits where allowed.
One thing worth checking before you come: many orthodontic benefits are written as a lifetime maximum, so if a plan paid toward your first course of treatment, some or all of that allowance may already be used. The office verifies this before treatment starts. See cost and financing.
What retention looks like second time round
The retention plan after retreatment is usually firmer than after a first course, for the obvious reason: the teeth have already demonstrated what they will do without one.
That often means a bonded retainer behind the lower front teeth, which removes the compliance question entirely, sometimes paired with a removable retainer on the upper arch. Whichever combination you end up with, the wear is indefinite and mostly at night once things have settled.
Nobody enjoys hearing that. It is still the difference between paying for this twice and paying for it three times.
Book a free consultation
Call the Odessa office at (432) 333-7105 or the Midland office at (432) 682-1222, or request an appointment online.
Dr. Megan Reznik and Dr. Derek Reznik are each a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, and the board’s clinical examination is built around finished cases judged for exactly the kind of detail that determines whether a result holds. You will leave the consultation knowing what moved, why, and what it takes to put it back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get braces twice?
Yes, and it is common. Nothing about having had orthodontic treatment before rules out having it again, and a second course is often narrower in scope because it is correcting drift rather than starting from the original problem.
My teeth shifted ten years after braces. Is that normal?
It is extremely common, and it is not evidence that the original treatment failed. Teeth drift across a lifetime. What determines whether they stay put is retention, which is why the retainer conversation matters more than most patients realize at the time.
Will I be told off for not wearing my retainer?
No. It is the single most common reason people end up on this page, and the useful conversation is about what happens next, not about what happened in 2015.
Can retreatment fix a bite that was never corrected the first time?
Often, yes, and that is exactly the sort of case the examination is looking for. A first course of treatment that straightened the teeth without correcting how they meet leaves a problem that will keep reasserting itself, and correcting it properly is usually a different plan from simply realigning.