Is It Right to Use Your Last Set of Clear Aligners Instead of Retainers?
Dr. B. Kanagasabapathy
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
The completion of orthodontic treatment is inbounded to a critical follow-through stage called “Retention”. It intends to prevent the aligned teeth shift back to the pre-treatment position. This is the reason why orthodontists advise their patients to wear retainers once teeth straightening treatment is completed irrespective of the type of brace the patient wear.
Similar to dental braces, the retaining devices are also available in different forms as traditional wire retainers and clear plastic retainers.
As the invisible braces are identical to clear retainers, many people believe that they could wear their clear aligner trays for retention. If you believe this, you are having a wrong assumption. Keep reading to know the reason.
How does a clear aligner differ from a clear tray-style retainer?
The clear aligners are removable plastic dental trays that can straighten your teeth. Such invisible aligners are typically recommended to address mild to moderate dental alignment problems. On contrary, retainers are required to maintain the teeth in their aligned positions after the teeth movement is done (i.e.) to prevent orthodontic relapse.
It shows that the pressure applied with dental aligner trays to pull the teeth differs from the pressure exerted with clear retainers. Right?
Likely, there are variations in the configuration of invisible braces and clear retainers, even though they appear alike. Here are a few:
- Retainers are thicker than aligners – Despite clear braces and clear retaining devices being fabricated with high-quality transparent plastic, their thickness varies. In general, the thickness of a new clear aligner ranges between 0.582 mm and 0.639 mm whereas an unused clear retainer’s thickness ranges between 0.63 mm and 2 mm. The aligners are highly flexible due to this less thickness so that they can push the teeth gently.
- Retainers are more rigid – The clear retaining trays are superior to clear braces in terms of rigidity. Such stiffness is required to prevent the teeth shift around. Similarly, the retainers do not exert the same amount of force as clear aligner trays and do not wear out quickly.
- Clear aligners are designed to last for 2 weeks only – Typically, an invisible brace wearer should change the clear tray at a manageable pace to shift the teeth into their right positions effectively. After evaluating the crookedness of your teeth, your dentist would determine the duration. However, the retainers are replaced every 4, 6, or 12 months.
These differences emphasize that transparent aligners and transparent retainers are diverse in their functioning procedures. So you cannot use your last set of aligner trays for retention purpose.
Bottom line
Even though you wear clear aligners for 24 hours to prohibit the teeth shift out of alignment after the braces are removed, your retention activities will remain neutral or go in vain.
Wearing the aligners for retention is acceptable for a short duration or temporary usage, but you should see your dentist about getting a new, custom-made retaining device. This is critical if you want to keep the lovely smile you achieved after getting orthodontic treatment for a long time.
