According to Healthline, the average person wears braces anywhere from one to three years. That’s 12 to 36 months, 365 to 1,095 days, 8,670 to 26,280 minutes… you get it. You have invested every single one of those moments into bettering your smile. Your new and improved smile is your obvious reward, but the freedom of being braces-less is a close second. You most likely don’t want to go back to wearing braces anytime soon, so it’s imperative to let your orthodontist know right away if you lost or have a broken retainer.

Why Wearing a Retainer Is Important

The U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health surveyed 107 orthodontists regarding their post-treatment protocols. The study received a 75% response rate and found “all of the respondents prescribed retainers after the orthodontic therapy.” Your new smile is a work of art, and your orthodontist wants you to keep it intact. A retainer is the way to preserve your masterpiece.

Most practitioners will recommend you wear your retainer full-time for the first 4-6 months after treatment, only removing them to eat. Eventually, your teeth will begin to become stabilized and you can switch to wearing your retainer bi-weekly or nightly. This practice is to ensure your smile does not “relapse” and return to its pretreatment look.

It’s easy to forget to wear your retainer once in a while, but if you lose or break your retainer you cannot wait on getting it replaced. Within the first year of treatment, your teeth can easily shift to their natural positions as bone is working to build around them and keep them in place.

Replacing a Lost or Broken Retainer

It is imperative to contact your orthodontist to see if your retainer is fixable if broken, or if it’s lost, to order a replacement. Dr. Jill Bruno and her team want to see your smile stand the test of time, and we will work with you to make sure you can fix or replace your retainer.

Treat your grin the best way you can by being diligent with your retainer routine. If the problem isn’t addressed quickly enough, a replacement retainer won’t fit and you will either need to be re-fitted for a new retainer or require more orthodontic treatment.

When taken care of and worn properly, retainers will maintain your beautiful new smile for the rest of your life. But if something happens and you end up with a broken retainer, let your orthodontist know as soon as possible and they will ensure you get a new one.

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Need help with a lost of broken retainer? Contact our office and we will gladly take care of you.