Retainer Success Instructions
First 3-6 Months after your Invisalign Treatment
For the first three months after your Invisalign treatment is completed, it's highly recommended that you wear your retainers day and night. Only remove them when you are eating and when you have to brush your teeth. After three months you are then only required to wear your retainers at night. You will have to wear your retainers from here on out every night for as long as you want your smile to remain the same. Not wearing your retainer every night will lead to your teeth shifting and your retainer will no longer be effective.
Retainers can last up to two years. However, without realizing some people stretch their retainers out sooner. Grinding/ clenching are commonly the results of retainers stretching sooner than expected. Over 85% of the population today either grinds or clenches their teeth without being aware of it. Your first tray stretches out a lot quicker because you are wearing it for 22 to 24 hours for the first three months to complete your treatment. In addition, there are numerous uncommon reasons for retainers to stretch out sooner. Such as not using your retainer daily. Any of these reasons and others can lead to teeth shifting despite using your retainer as instructed.
Every 6 Months there after...
Every six months you should try on a duplicate retainer to feel the comparison from your current retainer that you are using. If it feels tighter this is an indication that your current retainer has stretched. This is your sign to switch out your retainers and start with a new retainer before your teeth irreversible shift.
If you only have one set of retainers, there will be no way for you to determine if your teeth have shifted until you actually notice your teeth shifting. At that point it is too late, your teeth have already shifted and your smile has changed. You will then be required to get a new scan/ impression for new retainers which will further stop your teeth from shifting but it will not get you back to where you were happiest with your smile. This is why here at Dunn dental group we recommend choosing Vivera, Which includes four sets of retainers. We keep your scan on file so that in the future when you need more retainers we can have them ordered for you. Not included in cost.
When You need more retainers...
Please call (202)-333-9322 for more retainers when you are ready to upgrade from your single set of retainers to a more secure way of protecting your smile that you worked so hard to get. Once you get in we will scan you for Vivera retainers. Once you are on your last set of retainers you can let our office know so that you never have to go without a backup on hand. If you have been following our instructions and have had no dental work done, you will most likely not need a new scan or impression.
Cleaning Retainers...
Please feel free to bring your retainer in for cleaning whenever you visit our office and we will gladly clean it for you. For at-home cleaning, we recommend Retainer Brite tablet cleaners.
