Retainers

The day you have your braces removed is always an exciting one; welcome to your new, beautiful smile! However, in order to maintain that gorgeous new smile, retainers must be worn routinely to help keep your teeth in their new positions. Dr. Mark Justice and his team of professionals want your smile to last you a lifetime, and they suggest following these simple guidelines to help make sure that happens.

Your teeth will always try to return back “home,” so it’s very important to keep up your retainer wear. Initially, we recommend that you wear your retainers fulltime until your first retainer check, which is usually after two months. If everything is stable and the retainers are fitting well, we will advise that your wear for retainers for 12 hours a day. At your 6-month retainer check, you will be instructed to wear your retainers only at night. After 1-year of retainer wear, we will access stability/alignment and recommend continued wear as needed.

To maintain the alignment of your teeth, we use Essix retainers and Hawley retainers.

Essix Retainers

The most common type of retainer, is the Essix retainer. It is a transparent removable retainer that fits over the entire arch of teeth. Clear retainers cover the teeth entirely, and do not use any metal clasps or metal bows. Designed with cosmetics in mind, these retainers are lightweight, a bit flexible, very comfortable and virtually invisible.

Hawley Retainers

Another type of retainer, the Hawley retainer, is a removable retainer made of metal wires and sturdy acrylic. Hawley retainers are designed to maintain the width of the upper arch and are specially made from impressions of the teeth, providing a snug and comfortable fit in the roof of your mouth. The advantage of using both types of retainers is that it can be adjusted to finish your treatment plan and continue with moving your teeth as Dr. Justice sees fit. The acrylic can be personalized with color, and our practice offers an array of fun colors and patterns for you to choose from!

Dr. Mark W. Justice is a premier orthodontic specialist, providing children, teens and adults in Dallas and Acworth, Ga. with high quality orthodontic care. Please contact our office with any questions that you might have on retainers or orthodontic treatment.