Postoperative Care – Retention After Orthodontics

Congratulations on completing your orthodontic treatment!

Reaching the end of your braces or clear aligner treatment is an exciting milestone, but keeping your teeth in their new position is just as important as moving them there in the first place.

After orthodontic treatment, teeth have a natural tendency to move. This is known as orthodontic relapse. The bone and soft tissues surrounding your teeth need time to adapt to their new positions, and teeth can also continue to change naturally throughout life. For this reason, retention is a lifelong requirement if you want to maintain your orthodontic result.

Retainers significantly reduce the risk of unwanted tooth movement, but it is important to understand that no retention method can guarantee that your teeth will never move.

Your Retention Plan

There are two main types of orthodontic retainers:

Removable retainers are clear, custom-made trays that fit over your teeth and are worn according to a prescribed schedule.

Fixed retainers, sometimes called bonded or lingual retainers, consist of a fine metal wire bonded to the inside surface of selected front teeth. Because they remain attached to the teeth, they provide continuous retention to the teeth they are bonded to.

Depending on your orthodontic treatment and individual risk of relapse, we may recommend a removable retainer, a fixed retainer, or both together.

Fixed + Removable Retention

Where appropriate, our most protective retention approach is to combine fixed and removable retainers.

The fixed wire continuously supports the front teeth, while the removable retainer helps maintain the position of the entire arch. Wearing both provides an additional layer of protection should one form of retention fail or become compromised.

Importantly, having a fixed retainer does not replace the need to wear your removable retainer if you have been prescribed both.

Even with both types of retention, some future tooth movement remains possible. Long-term retainer wear and regular monitoring give us the best opportunity to minimise this.

The First Three Months

The first months after orthodontic treatment are particularly important because the tissues surrounding the teeth are still adapting to their new positions and the risk of relapse is higher.

Unless we have given you different instructions:

Wear your removable retainers full-time for the first 3 months.

This means wearing them throughout the day and night and removing them only for:

  • eating
  • drinking anything other than cool water
  • brushing and flossing
  • cleaning your retainers.

When you first begin wearing your retainers, they may feel firm or tight. You may also notice mild changes to your speech or increased saliva. These sensations generally improve as you become accustomed to wearing them.

Your teeth may also feel temporarily sensitive following removal of orthodontic attachments. A desensitising toothpaste can be helpful if required.

After the First 3 Months

After the initial full-time retention period, we generally recommend transitioning to nightly retainer wear.

This is not temporary.

Night-time for a lifetime

Your teeth can continue to move throughout adulthood, even many years after orthodontic treatment. Continued long-term retainer wear gives you the best opportunity to maintain your result.

Skipping your retainer for increasingly long periods can allow teeth to move. Initially, you may simply notice your retainer feeling tighter. With greater movement, the retainer may eventually stop fitting altogether.

If you want your teeth to remain as close as possible to their orthodontically corrected positions, plan to continue wearing your removable retainers at night indefinitely.

Caring for your Removable Retainers

To keep your retainers clean and maintain their shape:

  1. Clean them every day using a soft toothbrush and lukewarm or cool water.
  2. A retainer-cleaning product recommended by us may also be used.
  3. Do not use toothpaste inside your retainer, as many toothpastes are abrasive and can scratch or cloud the material.
  4. Never use hot or boiling water, as heat can distort the plastic.
  5. Brush and floss your teeth before putting your retainers back in.
  6. When they are not in your mouth, always store them in their protective case.

Never leave your retainers wrapped in a tissue or napkin — this is one of the easiest ways for them to be accidentally thrown away.

And keep them safely away from pets. Dogs have a remarkable talent for finding and chewing orthodontic retainers!

Removable retainers are not designed to last forever. Over time they can become worn, cracked, distorted or loose and may need replacement.

IF YOUR REMOVABLE RETAINER FEELS TIGHT

A retainer that feels slightly tighter than usual can sometimes be an early indication that your teeth have started to move.

If the retainer still seats completely over your teeth without excessive force, increase your wear and contact us if the tightness does not quickly settle.

Never force a retainer onto teeth if it no longer fits properly.

If it will not seat completely, is significantly painful, or your teeth visibly appear to have moved, contact us so we can assess the position of your teeth and determine the appropriate next step.

IF YOU LOSE OR BREAK YOUR REMOVABLE RETAINER

Contact us as soon as possible rather than waiting until your next appointment.

The longer your teeth are left without appropriate retention, the greater the opportunity for them to move. A replacement retainer is generally much simpler than correcting significant orthodontic relapse later.

If you have an older retainer available, speak with us before relying on it — particularly if it feels very tight or does not fit completely.

Caring for your Fixed Retainers

A fixed lingual retainer is a fine metal wire bonded behind your front teeth. Because it remains in place continuously, you do not need to remember to put it in each night — but it does require additional cleaning and regular monitoring.

CLEANING AROUND YOUR FIXED RETAINER

Plaque and calculus can accumulate more readily around the wire, so excellent oral hygiene is important.

  • Brush carefully around the wire and the gumline twice each day.
  • Clean between the teeth every day.
  • Depending on the design of your retainer, floss threaders, Super Floss or appropriately sized interdental brushes can help you clean beneath and around the wire.
  • Continue attending your regular hygiene and dental appointments so the area can be professionally cleaned and the retainer inspected.

Your existing care instructions appropriately emphasise daily cleaning around the fixed wire. Fixed retainers require ongoing inspection because a bond can fail and allow an individual tooth to begin moving.

PROTECTING YOUR FIXED RETAINER

Try not to place unnecessary forces on the wire.

Avoid biting directly into particularly hard foods with the front teeth, such as whole apples or very crusty bread. Cut these foods into smaller pieces where practical.

Be cautious with very hard or sticky foods such as:

  • ice
  • hard lollies
  • sticky caramel or toffee
  • chewing gum.

These can distort the wire or cause the bonding material attaching it to a tooth to break.

Do not pick at or deliberately flex the wire with your fingers or tongue.

CHECK YOUR FIXED RETAINER REGULARLY

A fixed retainer can occasionally become detached from just one tooth, while the remainder of the wire still feels secure. This can be difficult to notice.

Every so often, run your tongue gently along the wire and pay attention to whether:

  • the wire feels loose
  • one section has lifted away from a tooth
  • the wire feels bent or distorted
  • a tooth feels different or appears to be moving.

If anything feels different, please contact us promptly rather than waiting for your next routine appointment.

Do not attempt to bend, cut, glue or repair the wire yourself.

IF YOUR FIXED RETAINER BREAKS OR BECOMES LOOSE

Please contact The Grove Dental as soon as possible.

Teeth can begin to move when a fixed retainer becomes detached, particularly if the problem is not identified quickly.

If you also have a removable retainer and it still fits comfortably, continue wearing it — and consider returning to full-time wear until we can assess you.

Do not wait for your next scheduled check-up if you know that the wire has broken or detached.

If you Notice Your Teeth Moving

Small changes in tooth position can occur even when retention has been prescribed.

Please contact us promptly if:

  • a gap begins to reopen
  • teeth appear to be rotating or crowding
  • your bite feels different
  • your removable retainer suddenly feels significantly tighter
  • your removable retainer no longer fits
  • your fixed retainer feels loose or broken.

Do not wait until the movement becomes significant. The earlier we assess a change, the more options we may have to manage it.

If substantial relapse has occurred, retainers alone may no longer be capable of correcting the tooth position and additional orthodontic treatment may be required.

Your Long-Term Retention Checklist

To give yourself the best opportunity to maintain your orthodontic result:

  • Wear your removable retainers exactly as prescribed.
  • After the initial retention phase, continue night-time wear for life.
  • If you have both fixed and removable retainers, continue using both — the fixed retainer does not replace your removable one.
  • Brush and floss thoroughly around fixed retainers every day.
  • Inspect your fixed retainer regularly for looseness or damage.
  • Protect removable retainers from heat, pets, loss and damage.
  • Replace removable retainers when they become worn, damaged or no longer fit correctly.
  • Attend your regular dental and retention reviews.
  • Contact us early if anything changes.

Remember: orthodontic retention is lifelong

Orthodontic treatment moves your teeth into their new positions. Retention is what helps keep them there.

Your teeth will continue to be exposed to natural biological changes and everyday forces throughout your life, which means some risk of movement will always remain. Long-term retention, good oral hygiene and regular monitoring are the best ways to protect the result you have worked hard to achieve.

If you ever notice a change in the fit of your retainers, damage to a fixed wire, or movement of your teeth, please contact The Grove Dental so that we can assess it promptly.