Retainers

It’s very exciting when we unveil your new smile at the end of treatment with braces or clear aligners. But if you want to keep your new results for a lifetime, then the most important part of treatment is just beginning: the retention stage with a custom retainer.

Retainers

How do retainers work?

Retainers are built to hold your smile in its newly aligned position after treatment. Without a retainer, your teeth will want to shift back toward their pretreatment positions, so it’s very important to follow the instructions of your orthodontist carefully to keep your results.

In general, we recommend you wear your removable retainers all day and night for the first three months after your braces are removed. After that, you may be able to switch to nighttime-only wear.

Retainer Wear & Care Instructions

Your new smile is just the beginning! Once your braces or clear aligners come off, wearing your retainer is the most important step to keeping your results looking great for life.
Download our Retainer Wear & Care Instructions to learn how to properly wear, clean, and care for your retainer every day.

Retainer Instructions

Top Six Ways to Lose or Break Your Retainer

We’ve seen it all! Here are the most common ways retainers go missing or get damaged — so you can avoid making the same mistakes:

1. Wrapped in a napkin (and tossed in the trash)
2. Eaten by the dog
3. Forgotten in a pocket — and sent through the wash
4. Left on the lunch table at school
5. Accidentally stepped on
6. Ruined in the dishwasher

Sound familiar? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. The good news is, we’ve got you covered.

Lifetime Retainers

We recommend wearing your retainer for life to keep your smile looking its best, and we make it easy to do just that.

As part of our ongoing commitment to straight teeth, a healthy bite, and a beautiful smile you’ll love for years to come, Cool Smiles Orthodontics is proud to offer our Lifetime Retainer Program for just $990.

We know accidents happen. By purchasing additional sets of retainers upfront, you can reduce the overall cost of replacements and protect the investment you’ve already made in your smile, so there’s no need for future re-treatment.

Types of retainers

We use two different types of retainers at our clinics, removable and permanent retainers. Your orthodontist can help you determine which type of retainer is best for your smile.

Removable retainers

Removable retainers are made from either wire and acrylic or clear plastic.

With wire and acrylic retainers, a wire is secured by an acrylic plate that fits snuggly to your upper palate. The wire is visible as it wraps around the front of your teeth.

Clear plastic retainers are very similar to Invisalign® clear aligners and fit over your entire top and bottom teeth to hold them in place. They are custom made for your smile and can be removed for meals and tooth brushing.