Retainers

Retainers hold your teeth where they are after braces or aligners come off. Wearing them as directed is the part that is up to the patient.

Services

What happens

A retainer visit is short, and later check-ins are brief.

Step 1: Retainers are made
We take a scan or an impression and make the retainers. Some patients get a fixed wire behind the front teeth, some a removable one, some both.
Step 2: You learn how to wear them
The doctor tells you how many hours a day at first and how that changes. You get a case and a way to clean them.
Step 3: Check-ins get farther apart
We look at the fit and the teeth, and tell you whether anything has shifted.
Step 4: Replacing one
If a retainer is lost, cracked or no longer fits, call us. We tell you what to do until a new one is made.

Services

Comfort
A new retainer can feel tight for a few days, and speech can feel different at first. A fixed wire is bonded behind the teeth and cannot come out.
If you wait
Teeth move back when retainers are not worn as directed, and it can happen slowly. The doctor says how long to wear them and what changes if you stop.
Risks and after-care
A fixed wire can come loose, and it needs careful cleaning and floss threaded under it. Removable retainers get lost or broken; keep them in the case.
How it is billed
Retainers may be in the written estimate for your treatment or billed separately, and the estimate says which. Replacements are billed when they are made.
How fees work

The doctor tells you for your teeth, usually full time at first and then at night. Teeth can shift at any age, so we explain what to expect.

Each has trade-offs in cleaning, comfort and who has to remember them. The doctor suggests one and explains why.

Call us as soon as you can. We tell you what to do until a new one is ready and what it will cost.

Sometimes. Call us and the doctor will say what she needs to see first.

Her orthodontic residency and board are listed under Credentials.