Invisalign retainers: what you wear after treatment, how long for, and what they cost

After Invisalign you need to wear retainers for life, or your teeth will drift back towards where they started. Retainers are worn full time for the first few months, then at night. At Toothi in Edgware, every Invisalign package includes a removable and a fixed retainer; replacements are £150 for one arch or £250 for both. There are three kinds of Invisalign retainer: a clear removable Essix-type retainer, a thin fixed wire bonded behind the front teeth, and Vivera, Align Technology’s own branded removable retainer. Treatment itself is covered on our Invisalign in Edgware page.

Because straightening teeth doesn’t fix them in place. A few things pull them back, and they’re strongest in the months after the last aligner comes out.

• ✓  Gum fibres. The elastic fibres attaching the gum to each tooth get stretched as it moves and take a year or more to reorganise. Until then they act like a rubber band pulling the tooth back.
• ✓  Bone remodelling. The bone around a moved tooth is softer and still filling in for several months, so the tooth is easier to nudge.
• ✓  Everyday forces. Your tongue, lips, cheeks and bite push on the teeth constantly, for life. Teeth also drift forward slowly with age whether or not you’ve had braces.

This drift is called relapse. It’s a common reason people come back for a second course of aligners, and it’s why we build retainers into every Toothi package rather than selling them as an extra.

Clear removable retainer (Essix-type). A thin, transparent tray made from a scan of your finished teeth. It looks like an aligner but is designed to hold teeth rather than move them. Worn full time at first and then at night. This is the removable retainer Toothi provides.

Fixed (bonded) wire retainer. A fine wire bonded to the inside of the front teeth, usually the lower six and often the upper front teeth too, where it can’t be seen. It works 24 hours a day without you having to remember it. That makes it the most reliable protection for the front teeth, which are the ones most prone to relapse. More in fixed retainers.

Vivera retainers. Vivera is Align’s own retainer, made from your scan and supplied as a set of three, so you have spares. It does the same job as a clear Essix-type retainer. At Toothi, Vivera retainers are £495 for a set of three; see Vivera retainers.

Only for a few weeks. Dentists sometimes ask you to do exactly that while your retainers are being made, but it isn’t a long-term retainer.

• ✓  It’s made to flex. SmartTrack aligner material is engineered to apply gentle moving force; a retainer is made to resist force instead.
• ✓  It was designed to move, not hold. Your final aligner is shaped to the planned end position, which may be a fraction past where your teeth settled, so it keeps pushing on teeth that should now be left alone.
• ✓  It wears out. Aligners are made for one to two weeks of wear. After a couple of months they craze, crack and loosen, and a loose aligner holds nothing.

A proper retainer is the right tool. If you finished elsewhere without one, or yours has been lost, we can scan you and make a new one; see replacement retainers.

Both kinds. Every Toothi package, whether Go Express, Go or Go Plus, includes a fixed wire retainer and clear removable retainers for night-time wear. The wire is usually bonded behind the lower front teeth, and often the upper ones as well, so it protects them around the clock. The removable retainer holds the whole arch, including the back teeth the wire doesn’t reach. We make both from a fresh iTero scan once your teeth are in their final position and fit them at the last appointment of your course. There are no add-ons; the full list is on our fees page and in Invisalign packages.

How long. Full time (apart from eating and brushing) for the first few months, following the instruction given at your fitting, then every night. Teeth can move at any age, so the safest habit is nightly for as long as you want your teeth to stay put. A fixed retainer stays in place for as long as it’s intact and can last many years with care.

Removable retainer care. Rinse it in cool water every time it comes out and brush it gently with a soft brush. Skip the toothpaste, as it clouds the plastic. Soak it in a cleaning tablet a few times a week. Never use hot water, which warps it, and keep it in its case whenever it’s out of your mouth. The same routine applies to aligners and is set out in how to clean Invisalign.

Fixed retainer care. Brush along the wire and use floss threaders or interdental brushes under it daily. If a section comes unstuck, book in promptly, because a tooth that’s no longer held can move within weeks.

Retainers are included in every Invisalign package. If you lose one later, or had treatment elsewhere, the standalone prices are fixed and published.

Prices are fixed and taken from our fees page. Details in replacement retainers and fixed retainers.

Your teeth start to move back. In the first year, noticeable movement can happen within weeks, particularly in the lower front teeth and in any gap that was closed. After that the drift is slower, but it doesn’t stop. A retainer left in a drawer for a few months often no longer fits, and that in itself tells you the teeth have moved. If it feels tight but still goes on, wear it full time for a week or two; if it no longer seats, don’t force it. Minor relapse can often be corrected with a short course such as Invisalign Go Express, which is far simpler than starting again. More in Invisalign relapse.