“If a wire is incorrectly placed in the gum tissue or too close to the gum tissue, there can be domino problems, starting with gum inflammation. Prolonged gum inflammation can lead to bone loss, which then leads to gum mobility. teeth,” he says. Dr. Huang, however, adds that intervention can make a difference if your dental situation goes south. “Prevention is very important to us because we want to catch [the issue] before it happens. There are so many opportunities to do something before something becomes a cavity or before something becomes gum disease.”
How do I clean a welded retainer?
Dr. Apa confirms that your retainer should allow for consistent cleaning, even if it requires a little extra effort. “The most obvious thing to consider with permanent lingual wires is oral hygiene. Some wires, depending on how they’re made, aren’t easy to clean,” he explains. “You have to treat them almost like a dental bridge, where you use a floss to thread under the wire and get into the gum area. I always recommend a water collection for patients with bonded wires because it’s easy [to use]and that means they’re more likely to make it part of their daily routine, which is critical to avoiding cavities and tooth decay.”
Dr. Nagel says it’s also recommended to switch to an electric toothbrush, which has been shown to remove more plaque than manual toothbrushes, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash to strengthen enamel and reduce bacteria in the mouth.
The cost of permanent retainer replacements
Dr. Huang says that lingual retainers for upper or lower teeth, “usually run $850 a bow” and that there is usually a fee to remove the retainer. Very expensive, but it can save you extra money that the intervention would require later.
“Let’s say it’s a $1,000 Retainer, but this can save you from a very complicated orthodontic treatment 20 years later,” adds Dr. Grauer.
My final result
When I returned to Les Belles, I was truly terrified of what Dr. Huang when the glue was cut. With Oliver asleep in my arms again, he started. For the environment, it usually takes about ten minutes to remove a welded retainer. I ended up spending almost 45 minutes in the chair because there was so much glue for Dr. Huang to file and peel off my teeth and gums. I then looked down at the tiny monster that had wreaked havoc on my bottom teeth. It was completely unassuming and I was relieved to see it thrown in the trash.
For the first time in almost a decade, my back teeth felt: smooth, without a huge piece of glue, and mostly clean! After that, to install my new retainer, I expected to endure the same grueling mold-making process the old-fashioned way that I spent hours of my life dreading as a kid – my mouth full of two trays full of bland goop. Fortunately, this is not the case in Les Belles in 2022: The assistant of Dr. Huang took a 360-degree scan of my teeth with a tiny camera on the end of an electric toothbrush while Oliver nursed on my lap. I watched the scan have 100 percent visibility on the screen as it recorded every crevice of every tooth and I was sent on my way.
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Two weeks later, my custom retainer arrived at the office and I returned to have it fitted. In less than 15 minutes, Dr. Huang had replaced my twisted wire with the Mazzeratti of retainers. Shaped in an S-wave, the proprietary new model allows for effortless flossing and brushing, and most importantly, it didn’t feel sticky at all. As I aggressively thanked Dr. Huang, I realized that all this now-inactive glue had probably been affecting my speech for over a decade. It was a huge step toward better health — and until now, I had no idea it was one I even needed to take.
