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After Treatment

Name: Angle House Orthodontics
Telephone: 03 9817 6427

When you are ready to have your braces or aligners removed to unveil your beautiful new smile it is important to know that retainer wear is a vital next step after treatment.

Retention

Teeth have a natural tendency to move over time. The long term consistent wear of retainers should reduce this tendency and ensure that your teeth will look as good in years to come, as they do on the day your aligners or braces are removed.

Therefore in order to protect against future movement, known as relapse, a retention protocol is individually tailored for each patient. This generally involves a fixed bonded lingual wire and removable retainers. These retention appliances are designed to hold the teeth in place once treatment is finished and are generally very simple to wear and maintain.

There is a fee for providing the retainers which can be claimed as a general dental item through your private health fund.

Fixed Retainer or Bonded Lingual Wire

The bonded lingual wire consists of a fine piece of wire attached using special dental glue to the inside surface of the upper four, and lower front six teeth. This wire is not visible and is placed immediately following removal of aligners or braces.

Removable Retainers

Removable retainers consist of a clear, medical grade plastic that is not highly visible. Initially, the removable retainers need to be worn every day (removed only for eating, brushing and flossing) for the first six months (approximately) after treatment has finished. Following this, they need to be worn nightly on an ongoing basis.

We continue to see our patients for regular check-ups once commencing the retention phase. It’s important to wear the retainers to all check-ups. These appointments will be at no additional charge for the first 2 years after deband.

If you lose or break your retainers, please contact our office immediately so that arrangements can be made for them to be fixed or replaced. There will be an appropriate charge for replacement/repair of retainers.