What Are the Best Practices for Retainers?
Wear Retainers After Treatment Such as Aligners
Let’s review the steps for orthodontic success! Step 1: finish your treatment, whether it’s with braces or aligners. Step 2: now, with step one completed, it is time to move on to securing your teeth with a set of retainers from the orthodontist. Because teeth have a memory, your teeth can shift after treatment back to where they were before braces. In order to ensure that they stay in a desirable position, come see Drs. Hutta and Hutta to get fitted for (and start wearing) your retainers. Keep your teeth in place and put a smile on your face with a set of fixed or removable retainers!
Removable Retainer
There are a variety of retainers out there, and your orthodontist will guide you toward the best option for you. One option is a removable retainer. As the name suggests, this type of retainer is removable, so you can take it out before eating and other activities. This option is great if you would like to have control over when you have your retainer in and full freedom over what you can and cannot eat. As the retainer is removable, a retainer case goes along with it. For those who don’t want the hassle of maintaining a case and remembering to wear their retainer, a permanent retainer might be better.
Fixed Retainer
Another option is a bonded retainer, also called fixed or permanent. With this appliance, your retainer will usually be placed on your bottom teeth and stay there. This can be helpful for people who don’t want to take their retainer out and worry about losing or damaging it. Furthermore, this option guarantees that our patients wear their retainer all the time as they can’t remove it and “forget” to put it back in. This retainer is usually installed right after treatment with braces is complete. Though it is “permanent,” it varies in how long it will last. For those who want discretion, this is a great option because the retainer is not visible to others. However, you must be careful when eating as you can’t remove this appliance, just like with braces. With personalized care, we will assess which retainer is the best follow-up to your braces or other treatment.
Wear Them Often
Now that your expert orthodontist has recommended the best retainer for you and your teeth at your appointment, it is important that you use your retainer often. The exact timeline of how often and for how long a patient should wear their retainer varies. Your orthodontist will typically recommend wearing the retainer most frequently right after braces, aligners, or another treatment is finished. It is crucial to listen to your orthodontist and their instructions as the care given to each patient is personalized and differs from one to another. If Drs. Hutta and Hutta explain that it would be best for you to wear your retainer all day and night except for mealtimes, do so! These are guidelines—not mere suggestions—for your retainer journey. Follow the rules—your future smile will thank you!
Keep It Safe In the Retainer Case
One of the best practices for keeping your retainer clean and safe is to leave it in your case when you are not wearing it. Leaving your retainer on a napkin, paper towel, or tissue when you aren’t wearing it is often a recipe for disaster as others might think it is garbage and throw it away. When the retainer is in its bright-colored case though, there is no mistaking it for trash. In addition, leaving your retainer other places than its case can lead to you forgetting where you have left it. Avoid the headache of a lost retainer and keep it in your case for the most convenience.
Form Healthy Habits
For you and your retainer’s well-being, practice these healthy habits. Stay hydrated to prevent bacteria buildup in the retainer. While not a replacement for cleaning, water can rinse away some bacteria. In summer, be sure to take your retainer out before going swimming. Doing this will prevent you from losing your retainer in the water and will also prevent any damage chlorine might cause it. In the heat of the summer and cold of the winter, be cautious about where your retainer is. When you aren’t wearing it, keep it in its case and stored at a proper temperature so you can avoid dealing with a melted or cracked retainer from the heat or cold. Retainer accidents happen, but these habits can help you prevent them from occurring.
How to Eat in the Best Way
Keep your retainer clean and take it off before eating or drinking anything other than water. Then, before putting it back in, rinse your mouth with water and brush your teeth. This will ensure that your retainer does not get any food particles in it and bacteria does not build up. If you have permanent retainers, be cautious about what you eat as you do not want to get food stuck. Brush and floss around the retainers if food does get caught in order to clean it and prevent any orthodontic issues. And if you do eat anything sticky, be careful to chew more with the teeth that don’t surround the retainers. Overall, eating with retainers doesn’t have to be a whole to-do as long as you take care while doing so.
Keep Your Retainer Clean With Our Retainer Cleaning Tips
We understand that life is busy, but it’s important to follow our retainer cleaning and care tips to keep you healthy and smiling. When you do not have time for a thorough clean, rinse your retainer in water to help clear out any bacteria. To have your retainer sparkling clean, soak it in denture-cleaning treatment, white vinegar, castile soap, or mouthwash. Additionally, after brushing your teeth in the morning and night, start the habit of brushing your retainer clean with a non-whitening toothpaste. We recommend that you use a different toothbrush for your retainer than for your teeth so that the germs do not go from one to the other. For a fixed retainer, be sure to brush around it in the morning and at night and floss at least daily. A good oral hygiene routine will prevent bacteria from building up in the retainer and cavities from developing as a result. Care for and clean your retainers so that you can smile brightly for life!
Complications? Come For a Visit
Did you leave for a three-week vacation and forget your retainer at home? When you return home, your retainer may no longer fit your teeth. This is because your teeth started to shift back to their placement before treatment as you went too long without your retainer. There is no need to panic—we’re here to help! Your retainer might also wear down or crack from teeth grinding (bruxism). These complications and other ones might take place along your retainer journey. Call Hutta & Hutta Orthodontics and come in for a visit to the orthodontist so we can figure out the right course of action.
Come to Hutta & Hutta Orthodontics For Replacements
Retainer accidents happen, and we are certainly familiar with orthodontic emergencies. Complications are expected because everyone has lives apart from the orthodontist. There is no need to worry—we do not judge! Your retainers might become damaged, broken, worn out, or lost, and that is okay. When this happens, it is crucial that you call your orthodontist right away to schedule an appointment for a treatment plan. At Hutta & Hutta Orthodontics, we will replace your retainers as quickly as possible so your teeth do not shift without your retainers securing them. Simply give us a call, and we will address any concerns you may have.
Save Big With Our Guarantee Program
Drs. Hutta and Hutta strive to provide straightforward, transparent pricing on treatment such as braces and aligners. That financial care continues with retainers. This starts with our Retainer Guarantee Program. Due to wear, tear, and accidents, many patients need a $438 retainer replacement every one to three years. With the Hutta & Hutta Retainer Guarantee, you do not need to pay this price. Instead, you can get new retainers as often as you need for eight years after paying a one-time enrollment fee and minimal copay. After only two sets of replacement retainers, your saving begins. If you had to replace your retainers once a year for eight years without our orthodontic pricing plan, you would be paying more than $3500 in all. Smile big with super savings!
Wear Your Happy Smile Forever
Do not let your orthodontic treatment, like braces, go to waste. Instead, secure your teeth with a retainer! Wearing your retainer means an automatic confidence boost whenever you smile. Say goodbye to the days of covering your mouth and teeth while you eat or laugh. Say hello to enjoying the big and small moments—without any dental insecurities or stress. Come to our office, wear the retainer we give you, and replace them when needed. You will find yourself smiling in every mirror you pass!