Will My Teeth Stay Straight After Braces?

You've just gone through a year or two of orthodontic treatment.  Your teeth look great and you have a beautiful smile.  Your done, right?  Wrong!  In reality, the most important part of your treatment is just beginning.  It's called the retention phase.

People who had metal and clear braces have a choice of retention devices.  The most common are positioners, Hawley type retainers, clear plastic vacuum form retainers, and permanent lower  bonded retainers.  People who had clear aligners, often called "invisalign", get a final set of aligners to wear as retainers.  Unfortunately, there is not a perfect retention device.  Each one has its pros and cons.

The positioners provide three dimensional retention, doing the most complete job stabilizing the alignment and bite relationship if worn properly.  They look like a football mouth piece, so many people can't or won't wear them.  The Hawley type retainers are fairly easy to wear, and come in many colors and patterns.  They don't stabilize bite corrections, can be lost or broken if not cared for properly, and can affect speech.  The clear plastic retainers are easy to wear and don't affect speech, but don't stabilize the bite and are easy to loose or break.  They also cover the biting surfaces of the teeth, so grinding and clenching can damage them.  The bonded retainers are attached to the inside of the lower front teeth, so they won't get lost and don't affect speech.  They are difficult to clean around, so hygiene can be a problem.  Also, if one of the teeth comes loose and shifts, the bonded retainer can't re-align it.

No matter what retention device you choose, make sure to follow the instructions you get from your orthodontist.  If the retention device gets lost or broken, call your orthodontist as soon as possible to get it repaired or replaced.  You've worked hard and went through a lot to get that beautiful smile.  Wearing your retention device properly will make sure it lasts a lifetime.