We do, but they’re generally not my favorite choice.
Permanent retainers are placed behind the teeth and glued to 2-6 teeth. As their name indicates, they are worn for the rest of your life and don’t come out. Dr. Laurent has one on her lower teeth that has been there for 25 years!
There are two main reasons for permanent retainers –
- Really stubborn corrections – generally spaces between your front teeth or really rotated lower front teeth
- You aren’t good about wearing your retainer, so this takes away having to remember to do it
The things I don’t like about permanent retainers:
- They are glued on with the same glue we used to do braces – and it can break. Which always seems to happen at really inconvenient times (& is really annoying when it happens!).
- ORAL HYGIENE. You’ve basically got braces glued to the back of your front teeth for the rest of your life. You have to use a special little flosser pick to get in between the teeth or the whole area gets covered in calculus from a salivary gland that sits at the base of your tongue. I don’t know a lot of patients eager to keep using the braces flossers once treatment is completed.
Whenever we finish treatment, we discuss retainer options for your case. If we decide that permanent ones are best for you, then that’s what we’ll use! If you have specific concerns or preferences about retainer design or style, feel free to give us a call at (707 ) 938 – 5255 to discuss more today.