Retention

When we remove your braces, we will begin the retention stage of your treatment. The retention phase lasts for a minimum of 24 months. Your final orthodontic result depends on your retainers, so follow through with the hard work you’ve put in so far. Remember to remove your retainer before brushing, and brush your retainer before placing it back in your mouth

About Your Retainers:

About 95% of your correction can be retained.  Your teeth will not stay exactly where we placed them.  They will make adaptive changes to function in the most efficient manner.  This readjustment is not a failure of correction, but a natural change which we have to learn to accept.  We will supervise 2-3 years of your retention.  Working together, we can get the maximum lifetime benefits from your investment of time, money, and effort.

Here’s what YOU Need to Do:

• Make an appointment with your dentist for an exam and cleaning.  Brush and floss daily to protect your smile.
• Wear your retainers for 24 hours a day for the first month (they may be taken out for eating and brushing), then at night only after that.  If the retainers are tight after being left out all day, it means the teeth are still trying to move and the retainers should be worn night and evening (16 hours a day).
• Keep your appointments.  If you miss appointments, we cannot control your retention. 
• You MUST bring your retainers with you to all retention appointments.

If You Lose or Break Your Retainer:

Please call us immediately.  The teeth will move if retainers are not worn.  If you lose your retainer, you may purchase a new one from our office. Out of sincere desire to help our patients keep their beautiful smile in peak form we have purposefully set our replacement retainer fee very low. While most orthodontists charge $100 for replacement retainers we only charge $20.00.   We also give you the option of writing a retainer story, which we will keep in a book in our waiting room.  Retainer stories must be (1) FULL page, real or fictional, rated G, and can be turned in for the first (2) lost retainers.  After the second lost retainer story, a $100.00 fee will be charged for each replacement.