Retainers After Braces or Aligners

Who needs one

According to the American Dental Association's patient information, braces treatment is followed by a period of wearing a retainer³. A retainer is used after clear aligner treatment too.

Points to discuss when choosing

A Cochrane review could not draw firm conclusions about one kind of retainer over another (see below). So the choice rests on your teeth and on practical points. Discuss these with your treating dentist:

• Will you wear a removable retainer as instructed? It holds your teeth only while it is in your mouth.
• Can you clean around a fixed wire every day? The teeth and gums around it need careful daily cleaning.
• What happens if something goes wrong? A fixed wire that comes loose needs an appointment to repair it. A lost removable retainer has to be remade. Ask how quickly each can be done (see "Follow-up, repairs and replacement" below).

Your treating dentist explains if one kind does not suit your teeth, and why.

If your teeth have already moved

If your teeth have moved since your orthodontic treatment ended, ask a dentist to assess them before a new retainer is made. This page does not cover treatment to straighten teeth again.

A retainer is used after braces (including ceramic braces) and after clear aligner treatment. There are two main kinds. Ask your treating dentist whether one kind or both are planned for you, and for which teeth.

Fixed (bonded) retainers

A fixed retainer is a thin wire glued to the back of the front teeth. It is also called a lingual retainer. You cannot take it out, so you do not have to remember to wear it. But the wire can come loose from a tooth (see below), and the teeth and gums around it need careful cleaning.

Removable retainers

One kind of removable retainer is a clear plastic retainer that fits over the teeth. It looks like the clear aligners used in treatment, but it holds the teeth in place instead of moving them. Another kind is a plate with a wire across the front teeth, often called a Hawley retainer. You take a removable retainer out to clean it, and it works only while you wear it. A hospital in England gives its own patients a leaflet on clear retainers. It warns that not wearing the retainer as instructed could result in failure of the orthodontic treatment⁴.

Is one kind better?

A Cochrane review of retention covered 47 studies. It has not shown fixed or removable retainers to be clearly better² at keeping teeth straight. Each kind has pros and cons in breakages, comfort and gum health. The certainty of the evidence is low or very low, and most studies measured results after less than a year. The review did not include retention after clear aligners, so its findings apply to retention after braces. Your treating dentist explains which kind is planned for you, and why.

Your treating dentist recommends which retainer you have and when it is fitted, agrees this with you, and tells you how long to wear it. The steps below are a general outline, not our own routine for retainers. Ask for this in your written plan: the type of retainer, when it is fitted, and who checks it afterwards.

Your treating dentist decides how long you wear the retainer¹ and how many hours a day. The schedule can differ from one person to the next. This page gives no wear times: research has not set one schedule that suits everyone. Follow the schedule you are given, and ask for it in writing. Do not stop wearing your retainer, or wear it less, unless your treating dentist advises it.

• Is it for life? A UK opinion piece from 2018 reports a message the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) has given patients: retainers should be worn for life⁵. The author of the piece, a dentist, argues that research does not support this general advice. The author points out that most retention trials lasted 6 to 24 months⁵. There is no evidence-based fixed length of time. That is not a reason to stop early: keep to the schedule your treating dentist gives you.
• Putting it in. Put a removable retainer in carefully. The hospital leaflet mentioned above says a clear retainer should click down over your teeth⁴.
• Why it differs between people. How far teeth move back varies. A small study looked at closed gaps between the two upper front teeth. A wider gap before treatment was one of the factors linked to a gap opening again⁶.
• If you have not worn it for a while. If a removable retainer no longer goes in fully, do not force it into place. Contact your treating dentist promptly and ask what to do until you are seen.

Speech and comfort

A review looked at speech with all kinds of orthodontic appliances, including retainers. Most changes in speech could return to normal within weeks⁷. A lisp on the 's' sound, however, sometimes lasted more than 3 months. Retainers with a plate and wire (Hawley retainers) were among the appliances with a clear effect on speech⁷. The evidence in this review is of low quality.

Comfort is one of the ways fixed and removable retainers differ (see above). If a retainer rubs, has a sharp edge or makes a sore spot, contact your treating dentist; it may need adjusting.

Removable retainers

• Take the retainer out to clean it. The hospital leaflet advises cleaning a clear plastic retainer in cold water with a soft toothbrush⁴, then rinsing it well.
• Do not use hot water. According to the same leaflet, it makes the retainer go out of shape so that it no longer fits⁴.
• Ask your treating dentist which cleaning products suit your own retainer.
• Keep the retainer clean: the leaflet notes that a dirty retainer can damage your teeth⁴. Brush your teeth before you put it back in.
• Sticky and very chewy foods can damage the retainer⁴. The leaflet also warns that fizzy drinks will damage your teeth⁴. Ask your treating dentist whether to take the retainer out when you eat and drink.

Storage

• Whenever the retainer is out of your mouth, keep it in its case.
• When you are away from home, take the retainer, its case and your written instructions with you.

Fixed retainers

• Brush around the wire and along the gumline every day, and clean between the teeth under the wire, as your treating dentist shows you. Ask which brush or floss to use.
• If your gums bleed or swell around the wire, tell your treating dentist. Our page on gum disease explains the signs to look for.

Regular dental check-ups

Keep having dental check-ups at the intervals your dentist recommends. How often you need them is set according to your risk of decay and gum disease⁸. The hospital leaflet quoted above also tells its patients to continue to attend their dentist for regular check-ups⁴.

Benefits

• A retainer is used to hold the teeth in the position reached at the end of treatment.
• With a fixed retainer, you do not have to remember to wear it. A removable retainer can be taken out to clean it and your teeth.

Teeth moving back (relapse) and limits

After orthodontic treatment, teeth tend to move back² towards where they started. A retainer is used to hold them, but it has limits.

• No method has been shown to hold teeth completely still for life. There is no evidence-based fixed length of time for wearing a retainer (see above).
• Long-term research is limited. In the Cochrane review of retention, most studies measured results after less than a year². The authors call for studies of at least two years.
• A closed gap between the two upper front teeth can open again. A small study looked back at the records of 30 patients whose gap between the two upper front teeth (the central incisors) had been closed. On average 5 to 6 years after retention stopped, the gap had reopened in 6 in every 10 patients⁶. The reopening averaged 0.49 mm across the whole group and 0.78 mm in the patients whose gap reopened⁶. This rate does not apply to other gaps between teeth; gaps between the central incisors and the teeth next to them reopened less often. These figures come from a published study, not from our own records.
• After clear aligners. Whether teeth are more or less likely to move back after aligners than after braces has not been studied enough⁹. A 2024 systematic review found only 3 studies on this, all of them with Invisalign.

Risks and drawbacks

• A fixed wire can come loose. The glue that holds it to a tooth can let go; this is called bond failure. In studies of wires made of several twisted strands, bond failure has been reported at between 12 and 50 per cent¹⁰. This is not a single rate but the lowest and highest values reported in different studies; the quality of the evidence is low. The review's published summary does not give the follow-up period, so the range cannot be read as a risk over a set number of years. These figures come from published studies, not from our own records.
• A removable retainer can be lost or broken, or stop fitting. It also holds the teeth only while you wear it.
• Comfort and gums. Fixed and removable retainers differ in comfort and in their effect on the gums. The evidence on these trade-offs is of low or very low certainty (see the types above).
• Speech. Some retainers change speech at first (see "Wearing your retainer" above).

• A fixed wire that comes loose. If the wire comes away from a tooth, that tooth is no longer held. Contact your treating dentist, and send a photograph if you can. Do not wait for a planned check-up.
• A removable retainer that is damaged or no longer fits. Contact your treating dentist promptly. The hospital leaflet quoted above likewise asks its own patients to get in touch as soon as possible⁴ if the retainer is damaged. Do not force a retainer that no longer fits. Keep the pieces and take photographs; they help whoever repairs or replaces it.
• A lost retainer. While a removable retainer is missing, it is not holding your teeth. Contact your treating dentist promptly. Ask whether a new retainer can be made from an earlier scan, or whether a new scan or impression is needed.
• If your teeth seem to have moved. Tell your treating dentist. They explain what can be done.

Before your treatment ends, ask what happens in each of these cases (see the next section).

Retention goes on long after braces or clear aligner treatment ends. Before your treatment ends, ask who will look after your retainer, and ask for the answers in writing.

Check-ups

Ask who checks the retainer and your teeth after treatment, and roughly how often. Ask which dentist is responsible for your retention. We have found no research comparing checks by photograph with a check-up in the chair. So this page does not present photographs as a replacement for an examination.

A fixed wire that comes loose

A loose or broken wire is re-glued, repaired or replaced at an appointment. Ask who does this, how quickly you can be seen, and whether it is included in your plan.

A lost or broken removable retainer

Ask in writing:

1. Who makes a replacement?
2. Can it be made from the scan already taken, or is a new scan or impression needed?
3. How long does a replacement take?
4. Is a replacement included in your plan, and is a spare retainer part of it?
5. What should you do while you wait?

Turkish law (Law No. 1219) authorises every dentist¹¹ to diagnose and treat the teeth, the gums and the tissues of the mouth and jaw. It ties the specialist title to a specialist certificate¹¹, issued and registered by the Ministry of Health¹². Orthodontics is one of the nine dental specialties set by law in Turkey¹¹.

You have the right to be told, on request, who is treating you, and their role and title¹³. Ask who will plan your retention, who will fit your retainer, and who will check, repair or replace it. Your written plan should name them. You can also ask whether the dentist who plans your retention holds the orthodontics specialist certificate. You can find our dentists' titles on the Our dentists page.

Turkey's patient rights regulation says what you are told before treatment. It includes who will carry out the treatment, where and how, the other options with their benefits and risks, and the possible complications¹³. Ask for your retention plan in writing as well. It should answer these questions:

1. Which retainer or retainers are planned, for which teeth, and why?
2. How long and how often should you wear it?
3. Who checks, repairs and replaces it, and how often are the check-ups?
4. What does the plan cover if a wire comes loose or a retainer is lost or broken, and for how long?

In private dental clinics, you are asked to sign a consent form for every treatment¹⁴. Two copies of the form are signed, and one is given to you¹³. Ask for your copy. If the patient is a minor, permission is given by a parent or guardian¹³. The child is still listened to and involved in decisions as far as they can understand¹³. Ask for the wear and cleaning instructions to be explained to both of you.

Private dental clinics also record the diagnosis, the treatment and any X-rays in detail, with tooth numbers¹⁴. You can look at your records and get a copy¹³. For your retainer, ask for a record that shows:

• whether it is fixed or removable, and what it is made of
• which teeth a fixed wire is glued to
• your wear schedule
• when your next check-up is due

If your retainer was made from a digital scan, ask whether you can have a copy of the scan. A dentist who checks or repairs your retainer later can then see what was done.

You can say no, or ask to stop, at any stage. Turkey's patient rights regulation gives you the right to refuse treatment or ask for it to be stopped¹³; the possible consequences are explained to you. If you are thinking of not wearing a retainer, ask what may happen to your teeth. Without retention, teeth tend to move back² towards where they started.

Contact your treating dentist if you notice:

• A fixed retainer wire that feels loose, has come away from a tooth or has broken
• A wire end that pokes into your tongue or lip
• A removable retainer that is cracked, broken, lost or no longer fits
• A retainer that rubs or makes a sore spot
• Teeth that look as if they have moved, or a gap that has opened again
• Gums that bleed or are swollen around a fixed wire

If you think you have a dental abscess, see a dentist without delay. An abscess does not go away on its own and needs urgent treatment by a dentist¹⁵.

Emergencies. The signs below need urgent medical help¹⁵. Do not wait for a dental appointment or for a reply from the clinic. Go to a hospital emergency department or call 112.

• Swelling that makes it hard to breathe, speak or swallow
• Swelling around your eye or in your neck¹⁶
• A painful eye, or sudden problems with your sight
• A lot of swelling inside your mouth
• Difficulty opening your mouth

This page carries no prices. A treatment plan is prepared for you after an examination. The main factors that shape the retention part of it are:

• The type of retainer: fixed, removable, or both
• The number of check-ups after treatment
• Repairs to a fixed wire, and replacements or spares for a removable retainer
• New scans or impressions if a retainer has to be remade

Ask for the plan in writing. It should say whether the retainer, its check-ups, repairs and replacements are included, and for how long.