Retainer After Adult Braces

I am a dental hygienist, so I see all kinds of retainers. The absolute worst kind are the kind they cement to the lingual (tongue) side of each tooth. Impossible to keep clean. Much better are the ones that they just cement to the canines and then have an arch wire that keeps your teeth in place. With these you can go in through one gap, pull the floss up over the top and move the floss behind the arch wire flossing between each tooth. They can show you how to do this at the office. Removable retainers are great, BUT, because they are removable and show quite a lot, people wear them only at night. So there is potentially 12-16 hours of time that your teeth are shifting. They don't work as well. Water piks do work great at keeping retainers clean. So in my experience, and I have seen a whole lot of retainers, is to get the arch wire kind that is cemented only on your canines.

I have a removable retainer. It's the one that is basically a clear plastic mold if my teeth. I love it! I only have to wear it at night and I do, every night. It's very important to wear your retainer regularly, for the rest of your life, to keep your teeth in position. So, choose what will work best for you!

I'm happy with my removable top and bottom hard plastic & wire retainers that I wear at night. I think I started with the plastic kind, and accidentally cracked/broke it by simply squeezing it a little - the kind I have now is very sturdy. I think, psychologically, it helps me go to sleep at night, because I know when I'm wearing it - it's night time! I'm faithful about wearing it and have had no shifting.

I had a removable wire retainer after braces and had no issues with it. I don't recall exactly but I wore it for a few years after braces just so no shifting or minimal shifting would take place and mess up what I paid for!

I had no trouble with flossing and keeping clean because my retainer was removable. If you do choose the permanent one, I would suggest a water pik. The water pik worked wonders for me while I wore braces. I can see your point of view with removable vs permanent. I'd vote removable and be diligent about using it.

At night I wore (and still wear) a night guard because I am a clencher and grinder at night, TMJ.

I am 20yrs post braces but I do still wear the night guard. Just FYI, when cleaning my night guard and when I cleaned the retainer, products like Efferdent worked well.

Good luck.

Whether you tend to accumulate a lot of tartar is also a factor. My son does. And so we went with a removable one in July when he got his off (he's 16). He made the mistake of setting them on the bathroom counter before his morning shower and teeth brushing, and it seems the bottom one might have gone down the drain. :( It is pretty small. (still not totally convinced, but...)

Anyway... there are other differences, too. For example... with the permanent one, it just keeps things where they are. So if you ever take it off, and your teeth shift, you can't put another back on and correct the shifting. But with a removable one, eventually you will only wear it at night (not during the day) and it can actually correct shifting teeth if they begin to move or you forget to wear it and they begin to shift.

Son has been missing his for just over a week, and since it is so soon after getting his braces removed, he already has a tooth that is shifting. The mold was done and it will be a few more weeks before the new one comes in, BUT they are adjustable, and the permanent ones are not. So the orthodontist can adjust it to fit and gradually get his teeth back where they belong.
Hopefully we won't be losing another. $195 for the replacement. :(

That said, since he gets a lot of tartar buildup (and that isn't a dental hygiene thing... he cleans his teeth well, some people are just more prone to it), it would be very difficult to adequately clean there with a permanent one.

Most of the patients at the office I went to chose the plastic removable ones (especially the adult patients). I chose the removable because I'm not concerned that I am going to lose them. Also, the bonded retainer is hard to brush/floss with and I know many people who broke theirs and it was more costly to fix. I only have to wear mine at night and am happy with them.

I have permanent retainers on my top and bottom teeth. It has been 15 years and my teeth are still as straight as when I got the braces off. I do use a water pik to keep the area clean.