A person's charm can be reflected by the teeth. A bright smile makes a deep impression, so do a full mouth of crooked teeth but in a negative way. In order to avoid that, more and more people resort to orthodontic treatment. I believe they must have a basic idea of the braces, but how about the retainers? 

1. What is retainer?

Recurrence refers to the shift of the teeth or jaws towards the original position after orthodontics, while retention is aimed at consolidating the outcome of orthodontic treatment and keeping the teeth in the ideal position without unwanted movement. The tool used for retention is retainer.

In general, in order to reduce or avoid recurrence, patients are required to wear retainers after the removal of fixed braces for a certain period of time until the periodontal tissues are reconstructed.

2. What are the commonly used retainers?

At present, the commonly used retainers in clinic are mainly vacuum formed clear retainer, lingual retainer and Hawley retainer.

(1) Vacuum formed (clear) retainer

Currently the most common retainer which is directly made by vacuum- or pressure-forming over a model of the patient's teeth.

Advantages: transparent, good-looking, easy to wear and take off, easy to clean;

Disadvantages: easy to lose and break.

(2) Lingual retainer

It is usually bonded to the lingual side of the anterior teeth to work as a fixation. As the lingual wire is very thin and is fixed on the inside of the teeth, doctors often suggest patients to wear lingual retainers for a life time. The lingual wires are usually bonded before the removal of braces from canine-to-canine in the upper and lower arches, that is, all 6 anterior teeth, so as to prevent the anterior teeth from shifting.

Advantages: good-looking; no need to take it in or out; less impact on oral functions;

Disadvantages: it may affect oral hygiene to some extent, so patients should take good care of oral hygiene.

(3) Hawley retainer

Made of thin metal wire and acrylic, it is a bit like the removable denture.

It consists of resin base + steel wire (double labial arch wires + one pair of single arm clasps + base). The resin base attached to the temporal side of the teeth can prevent the teeth from shifting to the temporal side, prevent the anterior teeth from moving to the lingual side and treat the recurrence. Hawley retainer is often used together with a transparent retainer. Therefore, patient can wear Hawley retainer at night and the transparent retainer in the daytime.

Feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)