Retainers are fitted at the end of orthodontic treatment after the braces are removed.

Retainers can be either removable or fixed onto the teeth and are essential in almost all cases to help prevent the teeth moving once the braces are removed. If you do not wear these retainers then your teeth will go crooked again, and the hard work in wearing the braces will be lost.

You should only go ahead with orthodontic brace treatment if you are also happy to wear retainers to keep the result at the end. The two main reasons why wearing retainers are necessary are;

• Teeth will relapse i.e. tend to move back towards their original positions.
• Teeth move unpredictably as we get older causing crowding and crossing over.