Care & Use

Retention & Retainers


Interim Retainers

We know that you are excited and proud of the effort you have put forth to achieve your new smile, but your work is not finished. Your teeth must be maintained in their new position until the bone, gums, tongue and lips have adapted to your new smile and bite. During the next few months, it is extremely important to wear your retainers to "remind" the teeth to remain in their new position. In addition, you will be growing and losing the rest of your baby teeth so the retainer will require periodic adjustment. When the retainer can no longer be adjusted to fit, that usually indicates you are ready for your full set of braces.

Your retainers have been custom designed and constructed specifically for you. Retainers must be relatively thin in order to be comfortable and have minimal effect on your speech and bite. They must be handled with care to avoid breakage. This retainer is included in your original fee, however, additional charges will apply for replacing lost or broken retainers or those that do not fit properly due to lack of wear.

What to expect

  • Your teeth may be uncomfortable for the first few days, similar to when your braces were adjusted.
  • Speech may be affected for a short period of time while you adapt to wearing your retainers.

Instructions for wearing retainers

  • Please wear your retainers every night until instructed otherwise.
  • Remove your retainers for eating, brushing, flossing and for athletic activities which may jar your retainers out of your mouth.
  • Keep your retainers clean. Always rinse with water before insertion and brush with toothpaste upon removal. They should be deep-cleaned once a week with a professional cleanser (Retainer-Brite, Efferdent/Polident, etc.)
  • When not in your mouth, always place your retainers in their case.
  • Never place your retainers in hot water or near any hot surface, or leave them in your car on a hot day. Heat will warp them and they will no longer fit properly.
  • Pets love to chew on retainers!! Keep them out of their reach.
  • Bring your retainers to each appointment. If lost or broken, call our office immediately.

Final Retainers

We know that you are excited and proud of the effort you have put forth to achieve your new smile, but your work is not finished. Your teeth must be maintained in their new position until the bone, gums, tongue and lips have adapted to your new smile and bite. During the next few months, it is extremely important to wear your retainers to "remind" the teeth to remain in their new position. After approximately one year, you will be able to start wearing your retainers less and less until such time as you are trying them in once a week to be sure the teeth have remained in place. In essence, they will become a lifelong security blanket for you.

Your retainers have been custom designed and constructed specifically for you. Retainers must be relatively thin in order to be comfortable and have minimal effect on your speech and bite. They must be handled with care to avoid breakage. The first set of retainers is included in your original fee, however, additional charges will apply for replacing lost or broken retainers or those that do not fit properly due to lack of wear.

What to expect

  • Your teeth may be uncomfortable for the first few days, similar to when your braces were adjusted.
  • Speech may be affected for a short period of time while you adapt to wearing your retainers.

Instructions for wearing retainers

  • Please wear your retainers every night until instructed otherwise.
  • Remove your retainers for eating, brushing, flossing and for athletic activities which may jar your retainers out of your mouth.
  • Keep your retainers clean. Always rinse with water before insertion and brush with toothpaste upon removal. They should be deep-cleaned once a week with a professional cleanser (Retainer-Brite, Efferdent/Polident, etc.).
  • Invisalign retainers should never be cleaned with toothpaste as this will dull the shine and reduce the usable life of the retainer. Use a toothbrush with liquid dish soap or hand soap instead.
  • When not in your mouth, always place your retainers in their case.
  • Never place your retainers in hot water or near any hot surface, or leave them in your car on a hot day. Heat will warp them and they will no longer fit properly.
  • Pets love to chew on retainers!! Keep them out of their reach.
  • Bring your retainers to each appointment. If lost or broken, call our office immediately.

Long Term Retention

Removing braces signals the start of the retention and observation period of your orthodontic care. Please remember that this part of your orthodontic treatment is just as important as the active movement phase in determining the ultimate success of your treatment. Once the teeth have been moved into their desired positions, a period of time is needed to stabilize the teeth so that the surrounding bone and soft tissue can conform to your new dental alignment. When braces are removed, it is a good time to review several important aspects of care.

The good news is that you can start wearing your retainers less and less, however, you can never completely stop wearing them. Teeth can continue to shift throughout your lifetime with no apparent reason.

Basically, the retainers will now serve as a security blanket for you. Here are some guidelines for long term retainer wear.

  • Start off by wearing the retainers every other night for two months. As long as they continue to fit well and you do not notice any shifting of the teeth, you can then go to every third night, etc.
  • If you do notice that the retainers are fitting tight, or that the teeth are shifting, it is important that you begin to wear them every night until they are comfortable again.
  • It is very important that you never let more than a week pass without trying your retainers in.
  • If you have any major dental work done (wisdom tooth extraction, crowns, etc.) it is a good idea to have the retainers checked for fit and adjustment if necessary.
  • It is also important to keep the retainers clean. Doing so will extend their life.
  • When not in your mouth, always place your retainers in their case. Replacement cases are available for a nominal charge.
  • As always, if you notice the retainers are cracked, bent, warped, do not fit or are too painful to wear, please call the office immediately to schedule an appointment.
  • If you happen to lose your retainers, we strongly urge you to replace them. Replacing retainers is a relatively minimal investment compared to orthodontic retreatment.
  • Please understand that you are welcome to have your retainers checked at any time. An office visit fee will apply. Please call the office and we will be happy to schedule an appointment for you.
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