Retainer

A retainer is a thin plastic appliance that fills the space between your teeth where permanent teeth will eventually replace baby (primary) teeth. Your orthodontist designs your retainer based on photographs and x-rays of your mouth. It’s customized to both protect existing teeth and to guide developing permanent teeth into place as they grow in the jawbone.

A removable retainer may be used after you’ve had braces removed. This device helps maintain your new smile by keeping your other teeth from shifting back to their prior positions or crowding one another as they did before treatment began. In many cases, clear retainers are used as a cosmetic enhancement as well as for functional purposes to assist in maintaining tooth position during tooth development.