Retention & Retainers
The day braces are removed is always an exciting day, however, orthodontic care is not complete. Maintaining a new smile and bite is just as important as the process of creating them. "Retention" is the phase immediately following an active movement of the teeth. After braces are removed, it may only take days for some teeth to begin shifting back to their original position, especially within the first year.
When full braces are removed, two retainers will be provided, one for the upper and one for the lower teeth. The upper retainer is usually removable and the lower retainer is usually "fixed" or glued to the inside of the lower front teeth.
Dr. Karkhanechi may prescribe a different retainer that fits each patient's specific situation.
We will provide each patient with instructions for retainer wear, and perform several retainer checks to ensure that the retainers are functioning properly. Dr. Karkhanechi recommends wearing retainers during sleeping hours indefinitely.
Lost or broken retainers should be reported to the office immediately. We will be happy to make an additional appointment and take measures to ensure your smile stays healthy and straight.
We are now using Duringer Orthodontic Lab for our retainers. This means that we will be 3-D scanning each patient and the retainer will be made from an accurate 3-D printed model of the arch for a top quality fit. Generally speaking, this means no more impressions! Since it is a digital scan, we can simply upload it to our lab rather than shipping the models. This makes for a quicker turnaround saving our patients valuable time!
