Keeping your smile straight

If you’re going to the effort of straightening your teeth, you’ll want your results to last.

We provide all our patients with retainers at the end of treatment to do just this.

Why wear retainers?

Retainers are designed to hold your teeth in their new position after orthodontic treatment. If we remove your braces and leave your teeth to their natural devices, there’s a good chance they’ll move.

There’s the potential for your teeth to move throughout your life. So, if you only want to wear braces once, retainers are a lifelong commitment.

Straight teeth after braces

Removable retainers

Removable retainers (pictured here) closely resemble Invisalign aligners. They fit perfectly over your teeth to stop them from relapsing. You’ll need to wear them full-time when your braces are first removed (when your teeth are most at risk of relapse). Eventually, you can start wearing them just at night to maintain your results.

When we take your braces off, we’ll take impressions of your teeth, which our lab will use to make your custom-made retainers. We'll fit your retainers at the practice, and show you how to take them in and out and care for them.

Removable retainer

Fixed retainers

We’ll fit your fixed retainers straight after we remove your braces. We’ll attach thin wires behind your upper and lower front teeth to keep them under control. They may take a day or two to get used to, but fixed retainers are virtually undetectable and you’ll soon forget they’re there.

You’ll need to brush and floss carefully around your fixed retainers. You won’t be able to floss with regular dental floss or tape. You’ll need to use interdental brushes, special orthodontic floss or a water flosser.

Fixed retainer
Retainers for life

Hopefully, we’ve convinced you of the merits of retainers. We don’t provide treatment without them.

Retainers for life

If your retainers get damaged or go astray, contact us straight away so we can arrange replacements. If you wait, your teeth could start to move. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to straighten your teeth again without braces.