How quickly do teeth settle once braces are off??????????

3 to 6 months: you need to wear retainers to hold everything in place otherwise the movements will reverse. Teeth are held in place by a balance of forces, the pressure of the tongure pushing out and the lips and cheeks pushing in. They lie in the neutral zone. The collagen fibres holding the teeth in place are replaced very slowly, with a half life of six months. 18 months for them all.

It's a constant ongoing process. Teeth want to erupt and move forward to the midline to compensate for wear that Stone Age man's were subjected to but that our refund diet does not. Additionally all the bone in your body turns over every 7-8 years. It's not like putting a steel post into concrete. Want them to stay put, wear your retainers 24/7 for a full year, then "nite only" forever