Retainers

So, retainers is a big part of orthodontics. So, retainers are meant to be nighttime for a lifetime. That’s my motto, which means whenever we finish treatment, teeth want to go back to their original place.

So, I always tell my patients, if you want to keep your teeth straight, you’ve got to wear retainers. Now, we offer multiple types of retainers. The clear retainers, which you just wear at night at nighttime, and then I also offer permanent retainers, which is a more permanent solution for patients who feel they may not wear their retainers at nighttime.

What this does, it keeps your teeth straight 24-7. On top of that, I also make them a clear retainer to go over the permanent retainer. So, like I always say, it’s a double coat of armor.

Now, the other thing is, a lot of kids lose their retainer or break their retainer, are scared to tell their parents that they lost it. So, what I do is I make a complimentary second set of retainers for patients and the moms and dads are very happy about that because their kids are not going to be scared to tell them to buy a new pair and that we’re giving them an extra pair at no cost. A fixed retainer is a retainer that goes behind the teeth.

It ensures that the patient’s having straight teeth 24-7. With the fixed retainer, we also like to make a clear retainer to go over it. That way, in case the fixed retainer breaks, the patient always has a solution to keep their teeth straight.

I love fixed retainers for everybody. I have to offer to the patient first because a lot of people don’t want a fixed retainer in their mouth just because sometimes they feel the feeling behind their tongue might be discomfort to them, but I always recommend it for patients because I want the patient to have one time orthodontics only and never to have it again. The biggest thing in orthodontics is having people finish at 15 and then come back when they’re 30 because they didn’t wear the retainer and their teeth shifted.

So, I always like to push for a fixed retainer because I want the treatment I do on that patient to last a lifetime. When you lose the retainer, your teeth will shift back to a normal position and your appearance will not be So, I always give the patient an extra set of retainers to make sure that when they lose the retainer, they have a backup pair. Now, we also keep the digital files in the cloud.

So, I always tell parents when you lose the first set of retainers, call me. We can always have a lab order you one and send it to your house. So, even if you live far away or move out of town, I still have the molds digitally and I can always ship you retainers.

So, we always got your back. I like changing out my retainers every 10 years. So, we’re giving you two sets of retainers so that should last you a good amount of time.

But, it’s all about patient preference. Some people feel like they always want a fresh pair of retainers and they can always remake those. You know, like I said, we have the scans on file and we can always order them and they’re very affordable.

So, if you’re someone that likes to have a new pair, you can have one every month. You can have it every, you know, 10 years. You can have it every 20 years.

Just depends on how you can take care of them.