Retainers - Finishing and Maintaining

The "Invisible" Retainer

Here is a popular retainer design for the extremely appearance conscious patient. It is fabricated from a thin sheet of clear acrylic that is vacuum-formed to the occlusal and incisal surfaces of the entire arch. The completed appliance typically extends over the buccal and labial surfaces, and is finished just short of the gingival margins. On the upper appliance, the palate is horseshoed for patient comfort. Due to the thinness of the material, the patient needs to be instructed on the gentle care required for this appliance. Ask about our different types of retainers.

Island Wire Retainer

Clear Plastic Retainer

Maxillary Final Retainer

This basic retaining appliance features Adam's clasps and a standard, tightly adapted "Hawley" type labial archwire running from the distal of both cuspids.

Simple Mandibular Retainer

Shown here is a basic lower appliance with a standard "Hawley" type labial archwire. Molar Rests are placed on the molars for posterior stability and to keep the appliance from overseating. Clasps are optional.

Direct Bond Fixed Retainer

This appliance is bonded to the lingual of the cuspids by the use of custom contoured, direct bond pads. These pads have a metal-mesh backing for superior retention. The lingual wire is carefully contoured and routinely placed 2mm below the incisal edges unless prescribed otherwise.

You and Your Retainers

Upper and lower retainers are placed after the braces are removed to hold the teeth in their corrected positions. It takes several months for the bone to rebuild itself around the roots of the teeth, so it is very important to wear your retainers all of the time. In fact, wearing your retainers is as equally important, if not more so, than the braces themselves.

If the retainers are not worn, your teeth will begin to shift back to their original position. The more rotated the teeth were originally the more they will move. This is why it is so important to wear the retainers. We will see you periodically to check your retainers to be sure they are doing their job.

The retainers should be put in and taken out exactly as you were instructed. Brush your retainer when you brush your teeth. Never boil your retainer. If your retainer is lost or broken, call us immediately. There will be a charge for the repair or replacement of your retainer.

The retainers can be worn only at night AFTER the initial first year of full-time wear if the doctor instructs the patient that is permissible, or until the wisdom teeth are fully erupted, or until they are extracted. This will prevent the wisdom teeth from pushing those nice straight teeth out of alignment. If wisdom teeth do not develop, the retainers will be worn until the doctor feels the teeth are stable. If wisdom teeth do not develop, we may need to take a x-ray of them to determine if they need to be removed. A natural settling of the teeth may occur after the retainers have been discontinued. Slight shifting of the bite due to the normal aging process can be expected and is something over which we have no control.