Preserving Your New Smile
Congratulations! You've completed your active orthodontic treatment. Your new smile is ready, so go ahead and show it off!
With your braces removed or your last set of aligners taken out, it's now time to begin the maintenance phase of your treatment. This involves using a fixed or removable retainer to ensure your teeth remain in their newly straightened positions.
Standard removable retainers consist of an acrylic arch that sits in the roof of the mouth and an attached metal wire that surrounds the front teeth. The metal wire holds the teeth in place and can even be adjusted to make small changes to your smile after treatment.
Removable Vivera retainers offer a clear alternative to wire retainers. This clear retainer is custom-made to fit over the entire arch of your teeth, or just from canine to canine.
Fixed retainers are made up of wires that are attached to the back of your front teeth. The lower front teeth are particularly prone to shifting throughout adulthood. That's why we often recommend a fixed wire retainer for the lower teeth.
Flexible Payment Plans
At Duong Orthodontics, we believe that finances should never be a barrier to a healthy smile. Our orthodontics team would be happy to work with you to develop a payment plan to fit your budget. Now that's worth smiling about!
Why You Need a Retainer
There are two main reasons for needing a retainer after your active orthodontic treatment is complete, and they go hand in hand: stabilization and prevention.
During your orthodontic treatment, whether you have aligners or braces, they continuously work to shift your teeth and their roots into new positions. As the roots move, the surrounding bone must reform to secure them in place once again.
This process, as you might expect, requires time and can last for several months following the initial root movement.
Maintaining Your Results
Wearing a retainer helps stabilize your teeth while this happens, giving the surrounding jawbone the time it needs to reform and harden around the roots. This prevents the teeth from shifting back to their original positions and undoing all of your months or years of orthodontic treatment.
Retainer FAQs
Learn more about life with retainers by reading these frequently asked questions from our patients.
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How long do I have to wear my retainer?
Retainers require a long-term commitment from all orthodontic patients. They help ensure that your new, straighter smile remains intact after completing your treatment with braces or clear aligners.
After completing your active orthodontic treatment, you must wear your retainer full-time for a minimum of three months and nightly after that.
Even people who have never had orthodontic treatment will experience their teeth shifting over time. Orthodontic patients are even more prone to this and should wear retainers for as long as they want straight teeth.
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How often do I have to wear my retainer?
For the first few months of retainer wear after active orthodontic treatment, your orthodontist will instruct you to wear your retainer 24 hours a day, every day. This is because these early months of the retention phase are when your teeth are most likely to relapse (shift back to their pre-treatment positions).
During this time, you'll only remove your retainer to eat, brush and floss your teeth, or play sports (when you'll need to wear a sports mouth guard instead).
With time, your teeth will adjust to their new positions, and your risk of relapse will lessen. Once your orthodontist decides you're ready, you'll be able to wear your retainer for fewer hours each day. For many individuals, this means wearing the retainer only overnight.
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How often should I replace my retainer?
With proper care and correct use, most retainers can last for years. The following signs suggest that a new retainer may be needed:
Cracks or Chips
When you start noticing chips or cracks in your retainer, it's time to replace it. This type of damage will only worsen over time and compromise the retainer's structural integrity, making it less effective.
Poor Fit
Retainers are designed to be sturdy and durable, but they will start to loosen with wear. If you notice that the fit is loose, it's important to replace your retainer because, at that point, it is no longer effectively supporting your teeth.
Excessive Buildup
You should clean your retainer regularly to keep it in good shape. However, stubborn buildup can occur over time, even if you do this. If your retainer has buildup that can't be removed with a thorough cleaning, it should be replaced.
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Can I eat or drink while wearing my retainer?
Always remove your retainer when eating, and also take it out when drinking hot liquids or highly pigmented beverages to prevent warping or staining. However, you can drink water with your retainer in.
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How do I clean my orthodontic retainer?
Clean your retainer at least once a day using a soft-bristled toothbrush and mild, unscented liquid soap. This helps eliminate food debris, plaque, and bacteria. Rinse the retainer with cool or room temperature water to wash away the soap when finished.
We also recommend soaking your retainer in specially formulated cleaning tablets dissolved in water as needed. This helps loosen stubborn buildup and leaves your retainer feeling fresh.
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How do I store my retainer?
When you're not using or cleaning your retainer, it's essential to keep it in a safe place to avoid loss or damage.
We suggest placing your retainer in its case whenever it's not in your mouth. You should also thoroughly clean and dry your retainer and case to prevent bacteria buildup.
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What happens if I forget to put my retainer in?
Wearing your retainer as prescribed by your orthodontist is essential for maintaining the results of your orthodontic treatment.
That said, if you occasionally forget to wear your retainer for short periods of time, you probably have nothing to worry about. Just go back to wearing it consistently as soon as you remember.
If you don't wear your retainer regularly, your teeth may shift out of position, requiring more corrective orthodontic treatment to realign them. To avoid this, prioritize wearing your retainer as prescribed.