![]() Follow your prescription for the best results. You will get a prescription from your doctor that outlines the right appliance, when to wear it, and for how long. Retainers are made from a digital scan of a physical impression of your teeth. Your orthodontist will recommend a removable or permanent retainer, or a combination of the two, depending on the orthodontic problems you had corrected. These must be monitored for wear and tear and ultimately removed by an orthodontist, as they are affixed to your teeth. A fixed retainer consists of a thin, custom-fitted wire that is bonded to the tongue-side of the upper and lower front six teeth.These can be referred to as Essix retainers. They are made from a more durable, rigid material meant to last a long time and prevent tooth movement vs aligners that are made of a different, less durable type of plastic material specifically designed to move teeth with gentle, continuous force. Clear retainers are transparent trays made from specially engineered plastic material that fits snugly over your upper and lower teeth like an aligner set.This is often referred to as a Hawley retainer. It is connected to wires that go around your upper and lower teeth to hold them in place. The part of the retainer that covers the roof of the mouth or goes behind the lower front teeth is a pink or flesh-colored plastic. Wire retainers are made of a wire and a plastic-like material.As you can find on the American Association of Orthodontists website (), there are three main types of retainers: Removable plastic, removable wire and plastic, and permanent wire. What are teeth retainers and how do they work?Ī retainer is an orthodontic appliance used upon completion of braces or aligner therapy to keep treated teeth in their new location, ideally for life. Aligners are meant to only be worn for about two weeks, so they won’t last as long as a retainer would.īefore we go into more detail, it might be helpful to provide a brief overview of retainers vs aligners. Aligners are not designed to be a long-term solution to keeping teeth in a finished state. Retainers are designed to prevent teeth from moving, while aligners are designed to enable teeth to move into a more desirable location through constant gentle forces. The biggest difference between retainers and aligners is that they are made from different materials with opposite goals. The American Association of Orthodontists advises every patient to wear a retainer, as prescribed by their doctor, to avoid teeth moving back to a less desirable state than the smile you achieved with braces or aligner treatment. Can I use my last aligner in lieu of getting a retainer or if I lose my retainer? But then, in accordance with your doctor’s prescription for you, you often can move to just night-time wear. Initially, unless you have a permanent retainer bonded in place, retainers should be worn full-time except when consuming foods or brushing your teeth, similar to clear aligners. Yes, although it may not be popular, retainers serve an important purpose in maintaining the great smile you have worked hard to achieve through your braces or aligner treatment. Do I really need to wear a retainer after treatment? This article is designed to break down the differences between retainers and aligners, and clear up some confusion between the two, as well as offer some helpful tips. Sometimes, the patient may not even be able to find their retainer and aren’t sure how to go about getting a new one. Then when they see tooth movement, they try to put in a retainer that may no longer fit since their teeth have begun shifting back to their pre-treatment state. Many patients are so happy to be finished with orthodontic treatment that they ignore the recommended full-time or overnight wear of a retainer. ![]() In fact, a surprising number of patients are not compliant with their doctor’s advice to wear a retainer when their treatment ends. Have you found that your teeth have shifted a bit after completing braces or aligner treatment? If so, you are not alone.
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