You’ve worked hard to get your beautiful smile – Keeping your teeth straight
Now that 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 retain, hold and stabilize your results. Retainers are needed to control or limit potential changes in tooth position. They are used after your braces treatment to hold teeth in their correct alignment while the surrounding gums, bone, and muscle adjust to the new positioning of your teeth.
Types of retainers
Retainers are custom made and can be removable or fixed.
- Aligner-style retainers, or Essix retainers, look similar to clear aligners and offer a more aesthetic alternative to wire retainers.
- Fixed retainers consist of wires bonded behind the bottom and/or top 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 your remove it to eat or brush.
- Fixed retainers are great if you don’t want to keep track of them, or if you don’t want to worry about how many hours per day they have to be worn.
- 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
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