Retainer:

Your upper retainer is a removable appliance designed to maintain your teeth in their corrected position. Your lower retainer is bonded to the back side of your teeth and is not removable. Please Follow These WEAR and CARE instructions carefully.

WEAR:

1. The upper retainer should be worn at all times, (during meal's and sleeping too), unless your doctor gives you other instructions. Remove it only when brushing and flossing your teeth.
2. After nine (9) months of full time wear, retainer may be worn for sleep only, unless directed otherwise.
3. The retainer's plastic taste will disappear quickly, your speech will return to normal after a few days of wearing the retainer.
4. Soreness will leave in a few days, even after an adjustment. If you have a localized sore spot after three or four days, call us for an appointment.
5. DO NOT flip the retainer with your tongue. This could damage your teeth.
6. The lower retainer is bonded to the canine teeth and is designed to stabilize these front six teeth indefinitely.
7. If bonded retainer becomes loose please contact our office immediately, for repair.

CARE:

1. Clean the retainer by brushing it with a mild dish detergent on both sides and occasionally clean it with denture cleanser, found in your local drugstore, using warm (not Hot) water.
2. DO NOT BOIL the retainer to clean it. DO NOT wash it in dishwasher or the microwave, either.
3. When it's not in your mouth keep the retainer in a special box given to you (not wrapped in paper or in your pocket).
4. Keep the retainer away from pets.
5. Bring the retainer to each appointment.
6. SuperFloss may be used to floss between lower front teeth below the bonded retainer, rather than sliding regular dental floss down from the edges of the teeth.
7. Brush the tongue side of teeth normally making sure nothing is built up around retainer.