Congratulations! Your active treatment is completed. Now you have begun the retention phase of treatment. Your teeth must be held or retained in their new positions until the bone, teeth and soft tissues adapt to the new tooth positions. Teeth have amazing memories and if not retained they will move back to their original positions to some degree.
Important Retainer Information
We do not advise our patients to discard their retainers. Retainers should be worn as “templates” to hold the orthodontic correction because all teeth will try to relapse to some degree, especially rotations, crowding and large spaces. Relapse can occur at any time often in our 30’s and 40’s.
Recommended Retainer Wear
Years 0-6 Months: Full time wear, DAY and NIGHT
Years 1-2: Wear EVERY night
Year 3: Wear EVERY OTHER night
Year 4 and after: TRY IN 2 nights per week.
If at any time your retainers feel tight after being out, that indicates the teeth are trying to move so you’ll need to increase the wear time until they feel comfortable again. Slight movements can be corrected with some full time wear of the retainer. If you wait too long and movements have been too great you may need braces again to make corrections. Please keep and use your retainers to prevent this from happening to you. Think of retainers as your orthodontic insurance. Wearing them every night forever is certainly an excellent option as well.
If you have a bonded wire retainer, it can be left in place indefinitely. They do require more effort in cleaning as you know and the bonding material does not necessarily last a lifetime. Be certain your dentist or hygienist check it at your routine cleaning appointments.
If you have any problems with your removable retainers or bonded lower retainers, call us as soon as possible so we can make necessary repairs before teeth move. Our financial agreement covers the orthodontic treatment and up to two years of retainer supervision; however, any repair or replacement of the retainers would be done at our regular office fees.