To keep your shiny new smile in its beautiful alignment, you’ll need to wear retainers for the final stage of your treatment.
Retainers are appliances that are designed to hold your teeth in position until your bones and gums have adapted to the change.
How long do I have to wear my removable retainer?
People are always asking us, “How long do I need to wear my retainers?” Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer. The force of your bite, the natural changes that occur as you grow, and the memory of the elastic fibres holding your teeth in their sockets all contribute to gradual relapse. The bottom line is that we want you to wear your retainers as long as possible, certainly until you have finished growing.
Keep them safe
One set of retainers is covered in the cost of your treatment, but if you lose or break them the replacements can be expensive. Whenever your retainer isn’t in your mouth, keep it in its case; countless retainers have been lost forever in restaurant rubbish bins, crushed in back pockets or chewed up and buried in the garden by curious dogs.
Keep them clean
You clean your teeth, so don’t forget to clean your retainers! Your removable retainer is made of vacuum-formed plastic, so don’t put it in hot water because it’ll soften it and change its shape. Instead, clean it with a toothbrush.
