First 3 Months After Invisalign Treatment Is Done
Once your teeth have been moved to their final position, we have removed the attachments, your bite has been balanced and we take your final retainer scan you move into a 90 day (3 months) holding phase. During the next 90 days you are instructed to continue wearing your final aligners full time 24/7 in order to hold the position of your teeth as the bone underneath heals and your teeth settle. In takes 3 weeks to receive your final retainers. Once you get your retainers you will wear those for the remainder of the 90 days. After 3 months retainer wear can be decreased to night time wear. Plan to wear them every night for life to protect your investment and smile because we can guarantee if you do not wear your retainers your teeth will move and unfortunately we will not be responsible for any movement.
Also be aware that if in the future you have any dental work done and your retainers no longer fit, it is your responsibility to purchase a new retainer to prevent teeth from shifting.
Cleaning Your Retainers
To clean your retainers you can brush them out every day with some warm water and mild soap. Amazon and your local drug store also sell a variety of retainer/aligner cleaners that you can purchase if you wish. We also highly recommend you bring your retainers to your cleaning appointments so we can put them through a cleaner for you free of charge.
If You Need More Retainers
To purchase new retainers give us a call and we will set you up with an appointment to take a new scan and order more retainers. Please note that it takes 3 weeks to receive the retainers into our office so it is beneficial to always have a backup set on hand so you never go without wearing a retainer at night. As we stated above teeth can shift if a retainer is not worn and we cannot predict if in 3 weeks your teeth will remain in the same position or not.
Switch Your Retainers Every Year
It is crucial to always be using a tight fitting retainer. For that reason we recommend wearing one set of retainers for only one year. Retainers are made of plastic which inevitably will stretch, break down and distort. Pt’s who grind and clench at night also contribute to the speed in which their retainers wear and tear. If your retainer does not have a tight/snug fit than it is not doing what it is intended to do. It is your responsibility to check your retainers periodically and move into a new set of retainers to ensure your teeth hold in place and don’t shift.
