If you have been wearing braces for some times and you removed them, you will hear from your dentist that you should be wearing permanent retainers. Permanent retainers are appliances that you wear once you remove your braces and they can be either removable or permanent.
But what are permanent retainers? Well, in simple terms, they are a piece of metal wire that is attached to the backside of your teeth. There is a risk that your teeth will move back to their pre-braces position and the retainer is supposed to prevent this.
Sometimes, you don’t have to opt in for a permanent retainer. You can, for example, use a removable retainer for your upper teeth and permanent for your lower teeth. But since permanent are more convenient, their popularity is growing, especially if you have a busy life and you can’t be bothered to think about putting on your retainer every single day.
If you’ve ever wondered if you should get a permanent retainer or a removable one, keep on reading.
Permanent retainers and how they work
Another common name for a permanent retainer is lingual wire, because it’s “glued” to the back of your teeth. And since your orthodontist will use glue to fix it, it is also know as a bonded retainer as well.
One of the main methods to straighten misaligned and crooked teeth is to use braces. They push/pull teeth into a right alignment so you could get a pleasing and beautiful smile.
However, not all teeth stay that way once the braces come off. Some patients actually notice that their teeth have started to migrate and shift back to their “original” position. So in order to combat this, the movement of teeth should be restricted or the hard work you’ve did with braces will be for nothing.
Permanent retainers are ideal for this, because they are placed once and you can completely forget about them. With removal retainers you always have to take them out and put them back in. Not an ideal situation if you don’t always have the time.
Benefits of permanent retainers
Permanent retainers have a number of benefits. To name a few:
- They are very convenient – Once your orthodontist places them, you can forget about them
- They barely interfere with your speech
- The wire is placed on the back of your teeth so no one can tall if you’re wearing them or not.
- Removable retainers can get lost or damaged. With a permanent retainer, there’s no risk like that
Benefits of removable retainers
- Both removable and permanent retainers have benefits. Here are a few for removable:
- You can easily remove them and put them back on if you need to
- You can clean them and maintain good hygiene
- Removable retainers are mostly recommended for your upper teeth
Not everyone who has been wearing braces should get a retainer. It depends on many factors. So if you want to be sure, we recommend that you schedule an appointment with your dentist and see what he recommends.
