Orthodontic retainers are custom made devices usually made of bendable wires, and clear plastic with purpose to hold the teeth in same position after any tooth movement. We offer 3 types of retainers, meant for same purpose Hawley, Essex, and twisted wire retainer (permanent).
Hawley retainer is an acrylic and wire dental construction intended to keep the teeth in place after the orthodontic treatment has been finished. Can come in a variety of colors, logos, pictures, implemented in the acrylic. Acrylic covers the palate (the roof of the mouth – upper jaw) or goes over the inside of the gingival ridge (lower jaw). Wires grasp the teeth in manually formed shapes to give th e best fit to the teeth determined to be anchors and teeth that need to be kept in the same position.
Essix retainer is a clear plastic retainer meant for the same purpose – to keep the teeth in same position. Unlike the Hawley retainer and wire retainer, it is covering entire arch of the teeth, uniquely molded to the shape of the patient’s mouth.
Twisted Wire retainer is a fixed retainer and a flexible ligature sheaf of very thin wires that is being bonded to the back side of the teeth usually connecting six front (anterior) teeth in order to keep the same position after the orthodontic treatment.