Retainers in 24 Hours

DID YOU KNOW…

The importance of a quality retainer cannot be overstated!

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

After spending many years using a variety of traditional retainers, Dr. Rizkallah found himself frustrated with their different weaknesses (easily broken, poor speech, poor hygiene, too passive, too visible, can’t be used as a night guard). Traditional retainers were harming his patients. He needed something else to accomplish his retainer goals…..something else to protect his work.

Utilizing his unusual degree in Orthodontic Biomaterials, Dr. Rizkallah designedand trademarked a retainer that solved the problems seen with other retainers. While this retainer was superior to other retainers in many ways, it’s most impressive aspect was its ability to re-straighten teeth if the retainers were not worn enough (an unheard of property). It was named for this unique “forgiving” property……The “Forgiver Retainer.”

The “Forgiver Retainer” has been serving our patients for over a decade. We love them. Our patients love them.

The “Forgiver Retainer” is one of the main keys of our long-term treatment success. After all, getting teeth perfect is a 6 to 12 month service. Keeping them perfect is a life-long service. The first service is not enough.

PROPERTIES		RETAINER TYPES
	Forgiver	Standard Invisible	Standard Hawley	Permanent	Mushroom Spring	Wraparound Hawley
Durable	E	PP	G	PP	G	G
Hygienic	E	E	E	PP	E	E
Invisible	E	E	PP	E	PP	PP
Speech Quality	E	E	PP	E	PP	PP
Tooth Control	E	E	G	PP	G	G
Cleanable	E	E	G	PP	G	G
Removable	E	E	E	PP	E	E
Can Close Spaces	E	G	P	PP	P	G
Nightguard	G	PP	P	PP	P	P
Bleach Capable	E	E	PP	PP	PP	PP
Forgiving	E	P	P	PP	G	P

E = Excellent     G = Good     P = Poor     PP = Very Poor

PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS:

• Durable: Ability to withstand wear and tear as created by biting forces, handling forces, and thermal change (15 years to life = benchmark).
• Hygienic: Tendency to accumulate plaque/tartar/food around teeth.
• Invisible: Ability to avoid interpersonal detection.
• Speech Quality: Impact on phonetics (especially “s” & “th” sounds).
• Tooth Control: Ability to fully maintain/ retain tooth positions.
• Cleanable: Ability to use dental cleansers to rejuvenate surface appearance.
• Removable: Ability to be taken out of mouth & replaced without damage.
• Can Close Space: Ability to close residual spaces created by Invisalign or Braces.
• Nightguard: Ability to cover chewing surfaces; protection from night grinding.
• Bleach Capable: Can accept tooth whitening bleach; acts as a bleaching tray.
• Forgiving: Ability to reposition teeth that have shifted due to imperfect retainer wear

RETAINER FACTS

Fact 1

Dental retainers are for life!

Fact 2

Most orthodontic retainers are not durable!

Fact 3

Backup retainers are wise if you want to keep your teeth from shifting in case you lose your original retainer!

WHY HAVE BACKUP RETAINERS?

Backup retainers are only $100 each.There are so many colorful reasons why a dental retainer gets lost:

My dog ate it! I forgot it on the cafeteria tray & threw it out! It went through the laundry in my jeans! I have no idea where it went! Fell into the water when I went deep sea fishing! I think I still have it, but I don’t know when or where it will turn up.

By the time you get to your local orthodontist to get a new retainer, your teeth have already moved and now you have to pay to get them straightened again!

What a waste!

Solution: Always keep a second set of orthodontic retainers on hand! That way you can get to the orthodontist on your own schedule without the worry that your teeth will move in the meantime!

Backup retainers are a wise and low-cost insurance policy!