Orthodontic Retention
You've worked hard for your beautiful smile; Let's keep it that way!
Finally, your braces have been removed and your smile is beautiful, straight, and best of all, metal-free! However, your orthodontic journey isn't quite completed. To keep your smile looking its best, you'll have to wear retainers to preserve and stabilize your results. Retainers are needed to control or limit potential changes in tooth position. Once the braces are removed. the retainers hold the teeth in their correct alignment.
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. The metal wires can be adjusted to finish treatment and continue minor movement of the front teeth as needed.
- Aligner-style retainers, or Essix retainers, look similar to clear aligners and offer a more aesthetic alternative to wire retainers. This clear retainer fits over the entire arch of your teeth. It is produced from a mold of your newly aligned teeth.
- Fixed retainers consist of wires bonded behind the anterior teeth.
Pros and Cons
- Removable retainers can be taken out for eating and hygiene routines.
- Removable retainers can get lost easily, so remember to keep yours in the case whenever you remove them to eat or brush. It is also a little more difficult to speak with removable retainers.
- Teeth with fixed retainers require extra attention to be able to remove the plaque that builds up behind the teeth. Patients with fixed retainers often must use floss threaders to pass dental floss through the small spaces between the retainer and the teeth.
- Clear / Essix Retainers are great for daytime wear. They are invisable and do not interfere with speach. They are more fragile than the traditional removable retainers.
