Retainers
Your braces or attachments have been removed, revealing a beautiful smile and a healthy bite. However, your orthodontic journey isn't complete just yet. To maintain your smile's optimal appearance, it's important to wear a retainer to preserve and stabilize your results.
What are retainers?
Retainers are essential for maintaining control over potential changes in tooth position. Following orthodontic treatment, they help keep teeth in their correct alignment as the surrounding gums, bone, and muscles adapt to the new positioning of your teeth.
Retainer Options
Retainers are individually constructed and can be either removable or fixed.
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Traditional removable retainers commonly feature a metal wire that encircles the front teeth and attaches to an acrylic arch positioned on the roof of the mouth. The metal wires can be adjusted to complete treatment and continue minor adjustments of the front teeth as needed.
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Aligner-style retainers or Essix retainers resemble clear aligners and provide a more esthetic alternative to wire retainers. It is crafted from a mold of your newly aligned teeth.
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Fixed retainers consist of wires bonded behind the bottom and/or top teeth. While typically required for no more than a year after wisdom teeth removal, they are often retained indefinitely.
Which type of retainer is a better fit for you?
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Removable retainers can be removed for eating and hygiene purposes. However, they are prone to being lost, so it's important to store them in their case whenever they are taken out for eating or brushing.
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A fixed retainer is convenient if you prefer not to keep track of it or worry about the number of hours per day it needs to be worn. Nevertheless, teeth with fixed retainers require extra attention to remove tartar during flossing. Patients with fixed retainers should use floss threaders to pass dental floss through the small gaps between the retainer and the teeth.
