Retainer Instructions

(Only applicable to certain patients)

Upon completion of your clear aligner treatment, lingual bars may be installed for an additional fee. These are rigid metal reinforcements placed behind your teeth to prevent them from moving. You must clean around your lingual bar carefully and diligently every night to prevent plaque and gum disease. 

Each retainer is custom-made to exacting standards. However, a retainer may break if, for example, it is forced into place after the teeth have moved as a result of not wearing it as prescribed. Please note that retainers can be easily crushed if not kept in the case when not being worn. Also, keep in mind that hot air or hot water will distort your retainers, ruining their fit and function and possibly causing them to break.

• The lingual bars can break with excessive force and pressure, so you must be careful not to use any unnecessary force while biting and chewing.
• If either your retainers or lingual bars are lost or broken, call immediately.

Any dental work that you know is needed should be completed prior to having the digital impression for retainers. You may need to have new retainers made if dental work is completed after the retainers are made. We do our best to have new dental work fit under old retainers, however often it is impossible. If new retainers need to be manufactured, there is a fee. 

If you require additional treatment because of your failure to comply with your doctor’s retention instructions, there will be additional charges to redo clear aligner treatment and have retainers manufactured.

Your initial set of retainers is included in the Invisalign fee. Once those have cracked, broken, or lost their elasticity, please contact us, and we will order you additional retainers for a fee. If you continue to use broken or non-retentive retainers, your teeth will move. The initial retainer usually last 6 to 18 months.

If new retainers need to be made due to new dental work, there is a fee. If your lingual bar needs to be replaced within 1 year, it is under warranty. After 1 year, there is a fee.

The Vivera Retainer is a product from Invisalign that is meant to maintain teeth that have been aligned. It is a clear removable retainer that is thicker and tougher than the typical Invisalign aligner. Vivera retainers are made using 3D imaging, thermoplastic material, and Invisalign’s proprietary technology.

Because Vivera retainers are made of much tougher material (including advanced fabrication technology) they last longer than other clear retainers

Vivera retainers are very similar to your aligners and quite comfortable. The first months after you complete Invisalign, the more you can wear your retainers the better. Please refer to the retainer contract for recommendations on wear.

As an added benefit, use whitener in your Vivera retainers to whiten your teeth. Additional whitener can be purchased for a fee.