PROTECT YOUR SMILE
If you want to protect your smile and keep your amazing results after orthodontic treatment you’ll need to wear a retainer, plain and simple.
Because your jaws never stop growing or aging, and your teeth never stop shifting, there will be natural changes that continue to occur with time. Retainers help minimize or eliminate these changes.
Properly designed retainers are constructed to do two primary things:
- Keep your teeth straight.
- Direct the long term growth of your bite.
Because not all retainers are created equal, making sure you’re purchasing a properly designed retainer that achieves both is very important for the health of your smile.
RETAINER TYPES USED AT HATCHER & FREY
Clear plastic retainers, which are what Hatcher & Frey Orthodontics uses and primarily recommends, allow the user to have the most long-term benefits and flexibility from their retainers.
Clear plastic retainers offer therapeutic benefits in addition to holding the teeth and bite in place. Such benefits include doubling as oral health trays – allowing for bleaching, fluoride to rest in the tray overnight for better results. Also, popping in your clear retainer after teeth brushing allows all that “good stuff” to stay snug against the teeth and gums overnight and have a beneficial impact.
Clear plastic retainers also offer the space and benefits to complete oral hygiene practices without issue, avoiding buildup on and around your teeth and gums.
Bonded retainers are what people are commonly known as “fixed” or “permanent” retainers, and may be recommended for some patients as a supplement to their clear retainers. They are bonded to the teeth, but chew one crunchy pretzel and it can pop off – making it anything but permanent.
These types of retainers are typically bonded behind the teeth, use a wire, and can make oral hygiene a bit more difficult in the flossing/brushing department.
Because these types of retainers are fixed, they are not removable – unless removed by your dental or orthodontic professional or through accidental or forced displacement. And so, how long they last will depend on the wearer’s habits and behaviors.
It’s also important to note something many people are unaware of: bonded or fixed retainers should be used as a supplement to removable retainers – they should only be used to hold stubborn areas in place that require 24-hour retention and maintenance. Bonded retainers do not hold the bite in place – only the teeth – so not using a bonded retainer in conjunction with a removable retainer will still allow for shifts to happen.
HAVING A RETAINER ISSUE? DON’T WAIT.
There are two primary reasons people stop wearing their retainers:
- Fit issues with retainer
- Breaking or losing their retainer
If you lose, break or have issues with your retainer you should contact Hatcher & Frey Orthodontics immediately. Spending even a few days without your retainer can lead to major shifts and changes can happen to your teeth and bite. It is imperative you reach out and request another retainer to protect your smile (and investment).
‘RETAINERS FOR LIFE’ PROGRAM
Hatcher & Frey Orthodontics’ Retainers for Life program is designed to maintain your smile at an affordable price. It also takes into account that broken and lost retainers occur more often than people might think.
At Hatcher & Frey Orthodontics, all patients receive an initial set of retainers at the completion of their orthodontic treatment, along with 3D models of their teeth.
When enrolling in our Retainers for Life program before, during or after treatment, you’re immediately protecting your orthodontic investment for what will certainly happen in the future. This way, if a retainer breaks, gets tossed out on the lunch tray or gets chewed up by the dog – you’re covered, paying only a small copay out of pocket.
Note: This program also works for patients who may have been previously treated by a different orthodontist – in or out of our market. We’re happy to help protect your smile, too.
What’s included in the Retainers for Life Program upgrade:
- Immediately receive (2) additional sets of clear plastic retainers post-orthodontic treatment (a value of $1,000)
- Ability to receive up to (4) additional retainer arches per year, as needed, for life for a copay (at only $30 per arch, a $250 per arch value)
- One free rescan/reprint of your 3D models allowed per year
Not included in this program:
- Hawley or bonded/fixed retainers
- Progressive tooth movement
- Mailing/shipping costs for completed retainers to patient if out of area
Ready to chat with a team member about Retainers for Life? Fill out the form below and include “Retainers for Life” in the areas of concern field – or direct purchase here.
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