Wearing retainers is equally as important as your orthodontic treatment!
Orthodontic treatment with braces or clear aligners will create a beautiful smile, but wearing retainers afterwards is what maintains and protects your smile into the future.
The importance of a retainer
Retainers are custom-made orthodontic appliances that are designed to hold the teeth in their new positions after orthodontic treatment. If they are not worn as instructed by our team, the teeth may rapidly go crooked again.
Two types of retainers
There are two types of retainers – removable and fixed/bonded. Removable retainers come in a couple of different designs and fixed/bonded retainers are a thin wire that is glued to the inside of the teeth.
For most patients, we recommend a removable retainer for the upper arch and a fixed/bonded retainer for the lower arch. Dr Mehta will discuss with you which option best suits your needs at the time of removing your braces.
How long?
Faces, teeth and jaws are guaranteed to change as we age, but every person is unique. Wearing a retainer for as long as our experienced team recommends is the best way to ensure your teeth stay healthy and straight, and your smile is protected for the future.
