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Retainers

What Are Retainers?

The final step of your Orthodontic journey may be the most important.

Having a retainer to maintain your nice result is the key to a having a beautiful smile long after your Orthodontic treatment is finished. At our office, we offer several types of retainers, although a final decision on what works best for each patient is customized. One set of retainers is always included in your case fee.

All patients are advised that they should wear their retainers indefinitely in some capacity. The general rule is to wear your retainers for as long as you want your teeth to stay straight.

Clear Retainers

Dr. Grace Richardson finds that thin, clear, removable plastic retainers do the best job of molding around each tooth which helps to stabilize the smile and bite.

There are different ways of manufacturing clear retainers, and different materials with varying thicknesses that can be used. However, Dr. Richardson’s preference is Vivera retainers by Align technology, as they are made from high resolution digital scans and therefore have a superb fit. Made of durable and flexible thermoplastic, Vivera retainers are 30% stronger than other competitive materials. Although there is an additional fee for patients who chose Vivera retainers, our office offers these at a reduced cost to make this option affordable and easy.

Acrylic Retainers

Once considered the gold-standard, these very sturdy types of retainers are made of acrylic that covers the roof the mouth and have a strong wire that rests on the front of the teeth.

These retainers last a very long time but may fall short on keeping the teeth straight, and therefore are rarely used after comprehensive Orthodontic treatment. However, Dr. Richardson likes these retainers for early treatment cases which require minor tooth alignment.

Wire Retainers

In very select cases, Dr. Grace Richardson may recommend a small, braided stainless steel wire to be placed behind the upper front teeth.

However, because the wire impedes proper oral hygiene and have high tendency for breakage, these retainers are only offered to a small subgroup of patients that either require additional tooth stability due to bone loss, or had a large space before Orthodontic treatment that have a high potential to re-open during retention. We routinely remove these wires for patients from other offices who have problems with them, and provide these patients with clear, easy to clean, removable retainers.