Retention

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When we remove your braces, we will begin the retention stage of your treatment. Although our retention program only lasts 18 months, retainers must be worn for a lifetime to ensure tooth alignment is maintained. Your final orthodontic result depends on your retainers, so follow through with the hard work you’ve put in so far. Remember to remove your retainer before brushing, and brush your retainer before placing it back in your mouth.

Bonded Retainers

With few exceptions we typically glue a piece of wire behind the bottom front teeth. This ensures compliance is guaranteed. Unfortunately, a bonded retainer in the upper jaw does not work very often because of the way the lower teeth contact the back of the upper teeth. As a result, a removable retainer is normally prescribed to maintain alignment of the upper teeth.


 

Removable Retainers

A clear-removable retainer will serve as your upper retainer. It should be worn every night. You must be very careful when handling your upper retainer, as it is fragile and costly to replace. You are given a special case for your retainer; please make sure you keep it in this case when it is not being worn! To clean the retainer, brush it with toothpaste (sometimes with denture cleaner) using warm water. Your final orthodontic result depends on your retainers, so follow through with the hard work you’ve put in so far.