How to Care for Your Retainer — And What Happens If You Don't

Your braces are off. Your teeth look great. And now you have a retainer.

This is not the afterthought part of treatment — it’s the part that keeps everything you worked for from slowly reversing. Here’s what you need to know about caring for your retainer and why consistency matters more than most patients expect.

Why Retainers Exist

Teeth don’t stay in place on their own after treatment ends. The bone and soft tissue surrounding your teeth need time to stabilize in their new positions — and without a retainer holding them there, they’ll drift. The teeth most susceptible to shifting are your lower front teeth, which are the least stable in the mouth and the most likely to crowd back together without retention.

The result of skipping your retainer is called relapse — and it can undo months or years of treatment. From our retainers page: “Without your retainer, your teeth may ‘relapse’ or shift back to the spaces that you and your Nexus care team have worked hard to move them from.”

The Three Types of Retainers

At Nexus, we offer three options. Your care team will recommend the right type based on your treatment and your teeth.

1. Clear Retainers

These look similar to Invisalign trays — thin, transparent, and form-fitting. They’re worn full-time initially (except when eating), then transitioned to nightly wear for the long term.

How to clean: Rinse with cool or lukewarm water every time you remove them. To clean them, soak in a cleaning-tablet solution — we provide Retainer Brite tablets at the office. Drop one tablet into a cup of lukewarm water (never hot), soak for the time listed on the package, then rinse before wearing. Skip toothpaste — it’s abrasive and scratches the surface. Let air dry fully before storing.

2. Hawley Retainers

An acrylic plate with a wire that runs across the front of your teeth. Easy to adjust if minor tweaks are needed, and built to hold up to daily wear. Same wear schedule: full-time at first, then nightly.

How to clean: Same approach — soak in a Retainer Brite tablet solution to keep them clean and fresh. Use lukewarm water only; hot water can warp the acrylic. Rinse before wearing.

3. Fixed (Bonded) Retainers

A thin wire bonded to the inside surface of your teeth — usually the lower front teeth. You don’t remove it, which means you never forget to wear it. It does, however, require extra attention to clean.

How to clean: Floss under the wire daily using a floss threader. Your regular brushing routine still applies, but pay careful attention to the gumline near the wire. Fixed retainers also require a professional cleaning every six months to remove buildup the toothbrush can’t reach.

How Long Do You Wear It?

Longer than most patients expect. The initial full-time wear phase is usually a few months. After that, clear and Hawley retainers transition to nightly wear — and that nightly wear continues indefinitely. For most patients, that means every night, long-term.

This is the part that surprises people. Treatment ends; retention doesn’t.

What Happens If You Stop

Teeth move. It may be gradual — a millimeter here, slight crowding there — but over months, the shift becomes visible. Lower front teeth are especially prone to crowding back. Once relapse happens, the options are to restart treatment or accept the change.

The retainer is the simplest way to avoid that outcome.

If You Lose or Break It

Don’t wait. At Nexus, your digital scans are stored securely in the cloud — which means we can replicate your retainer quickly without needing new impressions. The sooner you come in, the less tooth movement we’ll need to account for.

Ready to Keep Your Smile?

Contact Nexus Orthodontics in New Hyde Park if you have questions about your retainer, need a replacement, or want to check that your retention plan is still working for you.

— Dr. Shauna Fung, DDS, Board-Certified Orthodontist Nexus Orthodontics, New Hyde Park, NY