Orthodontic retainers Post Reply

[northsidemum]

Having had her braces removed, my daughter is supposed to wear retainers on her teeth at night for as long as possible, but the ones given to her at the end of her treatment seem very flimsy and she has just broken her third retainer in three months.  The orthodontists she is at don't seem able to be able to provide anything sturdier and although they replaced the first two for free I am going to have to pay £180 per arch from now on.  
Has anyone else experienced this and found any solutions or can anyone recommend somewhere to either get more sturdy retainers or much cheaper ones......many thanks! 

[SLALLU]

Hello, 
I'm a dentist so might be able to help with some advice. 
The standard plastic retainers are called essex retainers and while they are prone to wear and tear, you are right to think three sets in three months is excessive. 

There might be a couple of reasons that your daughter is wearing through them faster. It could be related to how she is wearing and removing them / cleaning them /storing them. Or she might be grinding through them and there is a small chance there is some issue with the manufacture of them (however it is unusual for this to be a problem three times). Looking at her previous sets and to see how they have broken might provide some clues. 

There are other options for retainers which might be explored- such as a fixed wire or a different design or material of removable retainer which your dentist or orthodontist should be able to give you more options on. As a first instance it would be great to work out why the ones you have keep breaking. 
Good luck 
 

[tomsmum2008]

Interested to hear the outcome, my eldest is due to get braces soon. 
Can i assume you are using plastic retainers, like a clear thing.
We were offered a choice of plastic retainers for night time use and permanent ones that are like a little mini bracewire on the inside of the teeth that were supposed to stay there forever!
Which orthodontist did you use and were they any good?  (DM me if you prefer).