Quality Orthodontic Care In Bloomington, IL
At Bowers Orthodontic Specialists, we strive to provide the highest possible quality in orthodontic treatment while maintaining a fun, friendly, and welcoming office environment. Our doctors and highly trained team of orthodontic specialists work hard to make our patients feel at home every time they come into the office, and we pride ourselves on crafting specialized treatment plans that perfectly suit each patient's unique orthodontic needs. While we enjoy every phase of the journey to a new smile, we know that for patients, one part of treatment is by far the best - being finished!
After Your Braces
While we know you'll be nearly bouncing off the walls with excitement once we take your braces off, you're not out of the woods yet. Next comes the retention phase, and it's a critical step for ensuring that your new smile lasts you the rest of your life. When we remove your braces, your teeth will be in new positions, but the ligaments and tissues that support them won’t adapted and conformed to their new alignment yet. Without a retainer, your teeth will simply migrate back to their old positions, erasing all your hard work!
At first, you'll likely need to wear your retainers full time, but over time this will lessen to only at nights and eventually just a few nights a week. We offer a variety of retainer styles including removable and fixed retainers.
Clear Retainer
The most common upper (maxillary) retainer we use is a form-fitting clear plastic type that is comfortable and virtually invisible. It is custom fabricated from an exact model of your teeth. These retainers are very durable and relatively inexpensive to replace if lost. It can also be used as a lower (mandibular) retainer, as well.
Hawley Retainers
The Hawley-type retainer is historically one of the most common types of retainers in orthodontics. We provide this retainer in certain circumstances instead of a clear retainer. It consists of wire and acrylic framing. We offer multiple colors and patterns for the acrylic portion of the retainer. Since being custom made on a model of your teeth, it is comfortable and keeps your teeth in perfect position. It is also sometimes made to retain lower (mandibular) teeth, as well.
Fixed Retainers
Also known as a bonded lingual retainer, it consists of a custom-formed stainless steel wire bonded to the inside surface of lower (mandibular) canine teeth and stretching only from canine to canine. It is our most common mandibular retainer following comprehensive treatment. It is very cleansable, durable, effective and, most importantly, comfortable. Breakages can occur and we ask that a patient call us immediately should this occur.
Contact Your Lincoln, IL Braces Experts!
Have more questions about retention or want to come in for a visit? We're happy to help. Feel free to call us at 309-663-0415, reach out to us at our contact page, or use our easy online form to schedule an appointment at our Bloomington, IL office. We can't wait to hear from you, and we look forward to helping you achieve a beautiful, healthy new smile that lasts you the rest of your life!