How to Get Cheap Retainer Replacement without Visiting an Orthodontist

Braces are efficient and affordable solutions for aligning teeth properly. There is a possibility that teeth once fixed to the right place can return to the previous place. As implied from the name, retainers are used to retain or hold aligned teeth at the correct place. Unfortunately, retainers often get broken if the patient does not take proper care. When a retainer is lost or broken, immediate replacement is required to keep teeth in place. Every individual have different structure of mouth and teeth. Therefore, the orthodontist needs dental impression of an individual to make custom retainers. As retainers are customized, people wrongly believe that all kinds of retainers are expensive.

Kinds of retainers:-

Till now, orthodontists have developed following two kinds of dental retainers:

1. Hawley retainers: These are traditional retainers made of colored plastic with attached wires that hold teeth.
2. Vacuum retainer: These retainers are also made using plastic but unlike Hawley retainers, the plastic is transparent. The plastic surrounding teeth is nearly invisible. These are quite similar to invisalign braces, but thicker.

 Which one is better Hawley or Vacuum?    

Following are the differences between Hawley and Vacuum retainers:

Features	Vacuum	Hawley
Price	Less expensive	More expensive
Nearly invisible	Yes	No
Comfort	More comfortable	Less comfortable
Top and bottom teeth touch	No	Yes
Eating	Must remove before eating	No need to remove
Effects on speech	No effect	Effect goes away with time
Teeth adjustment required	No	Minor

Getting custom retainers at home:-

You need not visit an orthodontist in person to get a custom Hawley or vacuum retainer. You can buy a home dental kit for taking a dental impression. Now, send the impression to a lab to get customized retainers. Usually, dental kit providers have their own team of technicians to tailor retainers according to the impression.

 Importance of wearing retainers:-

Braces serve the purpose of aligning teeth. It is not the job of braces to hold teeth in place. It takes a number of years for braces to realign teeth. Still teeth are likely to shift or sometimes rotate. A patient needs to wear retainers for the lifetime to prevent shifting. Some orthodontists recommend another option, fixed retainers. A wire is permanently placed behind teeth. However, some people find it uncomfortable. Moreover, in some cases, fixed retainers fall short of retaining the position and alignment of teeth.

 Retainers are not that expensive people usually think. Cheap retainer replacement is available at the comfort of home. All you need to do is to buy a home dental kit.