Orthodontic Retention

You've worked for your beautiful smile, so let's keep it that way!

Finally, your braces have been removed and your smile is beautiful!  However, your orthodontic journey isn't quite completed. To keep your smile looking its best, you'll have to wear a retainer to preserve and stabilize your results. Retainers are needed to control or limit potential changes in tooth position. They are used after braces treatment to hold teeth in their correct alignment while the surrounding gums, bone, and muscle adjust to the new positioning of your teeth. 

Retention is night-time for a life-time!   Your teeth will constantly want to move around, no matter how good of an orthodontic result you have.   Retainers are like anti-aging for your teeth...and wearing them every night helps ensure things will stay put!

Types of Retainers

Retainers are custom-made and can be removable or fixed.

• Traditional removable retainers typically include a metal wire that surrounds the front teeth and is attached to an acrylic arch that sits in the roof of the mouth.
• Clear retainers are made of plastic and fit over the entire arch of your teeth.
• Fixed retainers consist of wires bonded behind the bottom and/or top teeth. As long as you keep it clean it can be kept in place for life.

FAQs

• Removable retainers can get lost easily, so remember to keep yours in the case whenever you remove it to eat or brush..
• Teeth with fixed retainers require a little extra attention to remove tartar while flossing. Patients with fixed retainers often must use floss threaders to pass dental floss through the small spaces between the retainer and the teeth.