Retainers

You wear a retainer for life. Teeth shift throughout adulthood as the bone and ligaments around them slowly remodel. Most patients wear retainers full-time for a few months right after braces or Invisalign come off, then move to nighttime wear forever. McComb Orthodontics builds this expectation into every treatment plan from the start of your consultation. The goal is not just to straighten your teeth, but to keep them straight for the rest of your life.

Your teeth start drifting back toward their old positions. The shift is slow at first, then more obvious. Patients who stop wearing retainers usually see a noticeable change within a year. The teeth that were rotated or crowded are the first to move. After five to ten years without a retainer, most patients have lost most of the alignment they paid for and need new treatment to correct the relapse.

Try it. If the old retainer still seats fully against your teeth with light pressure, you can usually wear it back into compliance over a few weeks of nighttime wear. If it does not seat, do not force it. Forcing a retainer that no longer fits can chip teeth, irritate the gums, or crack the retainer. Book a consultation at McComb Orthodontics. We will scan your bite, evaluate how much your teeth have moved, and either make you a new retainer or recommend a short course of Invisalign to bring your teeth back to where they were.

Not always. Minor relapse of one or two millimeters is often corrected with a short Invisalign refinement course of three to six months, sometimes with no attachments at all. Larger relapse may need a full new round of treatment. At your consultation, McComb Orthodontics will take a 3D iTero scan of your current bite, compare it to your original position when records are available, and tell you honestly which path is right. New retainers alone are sometimes enough if the shift is small and recent.

McComb Orthodontics provides Vivera retainers made by Align Technology as the default for almost every patient. Vivera is a clear thermoplastic retainer that fits over your teeth and is nearly invisible. It is made from the same material family as Invisalign aligners and is the most durable clear retainer on the market. For specific cases where a patient cannot reliably wear a removable retainer, Dr. Ryan McComb may recommend a fixed bonded retainer attached to the back of the lower front teeth.

Most McComb patients do best with a removable Vivera retainer worn at night. Removable retainers are easier to clean, do not trap food or tartar, and let you brush and floss normally. Fixed retainers are reserved for patients who have shown they will not wear a removable retainer reliably, or for cases with high relapse risk in the lower front teeth. Dr. Ryan McComb will tell you which is right for your case at the end of treatment, and the choice is built around how you actually live, not a one-size policy.

Fixed retainers can stay in place for years, but they need monitoring. The bonded wire can collect tartar, which raises the risk of gum inflammation if you do not floss under it carefully every day. The wire itself can fracture, debond from a tooth, or shift, all of which can let teeth move in ways the retainer was supposed to prevent. McComb Orthodontics checks fixed retainers at every follow-up visit. If the wire is breaking down or causing gum problems, we remove it and replace it with a Vivera retainer.

A Vivera retainer worn at night usually lasts 12 to 18 months before the material starts to wear thin or loses its grip on the teeth. Patients who clench or grind in their sleep wear retainers out faster, sometimes in six to nine months. Patients who wear them carefully and clean them correctly can sometimes get two years out of one set. McComb Orthodontics provides three to four Vivera sets at the end of treatment so most patients have several years of retainers in hand before they need a refill.

For McComb patients, a starter set of three to four Vivera retainers is included in the full treatment fee at the end of orthodontic treatment. Replacement Vivera retainers ordered later are available at McComb's patient pricing tier, which is lower than what most LA orthodontists charge for a replacement set. Patients who were not treated at McComb pay our non-patient pricing tier for replacement Vivera retainers. Call any office for the current price and to schedule the scan appointment. Pricing is the same across our West Hollywood, Culver City, and Santa Monica offices.

The McComb retainer subscription program ships replacement Vivera retainers to patients on a regular cadence so they always have a fresh set on hand. Subscription pricing is lower per set than ordering replacements one at a time, and the new retainers are made from a recent scan of your bite, not an old impression. The subscription is the lowest-cost way to maintain your alignment for life. Call any McComb Orthodontics office for current subscription pricing and to enroll. Patients who finished treatment at another practice are eligible to enroll after one scan visit.

Most dental insurance plans do not cover replacement retainers. The first set of retainers at the end of orthodontic treatment is sometimes covered as part of the orthodontic benefit, depending on your plan. Replacement retainers years after treatment are almost always paid out of pocket. McComb Orthodontics offers retainer subscription pricing and a pay-in-full discount that reduce the out-of-pocket cost. Call your insurance carrier with the procedure code from your treatment coordinator to confirm what your specific plan covers.

Yes. Orthodontic retainers, both the first set at the end of treatment and replacement sets ordered later, are eligible for purchase with Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account funds under IRS rules. This applies to Vivera retainers, fixed bonded retainers, and any retainer prescribed by a licensed orthodontist. Keep your receipt from McComb Orthodontics for your FSA or HSA records. No FSA or HSA debit card is required at our offices, but ask your benefits administrator about reimbursement procedures.

Yes. McComb Orthodontics provides Vivera retainers to patients who completed orthodontic treatment at any other practice. The process is one short visit. We take a panoramic X-ray, a 3D iTero scan of your current bite, and a brief look at your teeth to confirm everything is healthy. Align Technology manufactures the new Vivera retainer from your scan and ships it to our office within two to three weeks. You can enroll in the McComb retainer subscription program at the same visit for ongoing replacements.

Yes. McComb Orthodontics has fitted Vivera retainers for many patients whose original SmileDirectClub, Byte, or other direct-to-consumer aligner retainers stopped fitting or broke. The mail-order retainer companies that have closed do not ship new retainers to old customers, and the ones still operating use generic thermoplastic that wears out faster than Vivera. We take a new 3D scan of your current bite and produce a Vivera retainer that fits you today, not the bite you had when the mail-order company first scanned you years ago. The clinical visit also gives Dr. Ryan McComb a chance to evaluate whether your bite has shifted in ways that need correction beyond a retainer.

Vivera retainers are sold only through licensed orthodontists. Align Technology, the company that manufactures Vivera, does not ship them directly to patients. The mail-order retainer subscriptions you see online use generic thermoplastic, not Vivera. Generic thermoplastic retainers are softer, less precise, and wear out in months rather than years. A Vivera retainer from McComb Orthodontics is made from a recent 3D iTero scan, fits your teeth as they are today, and is backed by an in-person clinical visit where Dr. Ryan McComb confirms the retainer seats correctly before you take it home. The retainer is a tool. The result depends on the clinician fitting it.

Rinse the retainer in lukewarm water every time you take it out. Once a day, brush the inside and outside gently with a soft toothbrush and clear, fragrance-free liquid soap. Avoid toothpaste, which is abrasive and dulls the clear plastic over time. Avoid boiling water, the dishwasher, denture tablets soaked for more than 15 minutes, and any cleaner that contains alcohol or bleach. Once a week, soak the retainer for 15 minutes in a clear retainer-specific cleaner or a 50-50 mix of cool water and white vinegar. Store the retainer in its case when it is not in your mouth.

Only water. Coffee, tea, soda, juice, sports drinks, kombucha, alcohol, and dairy all stain or warp the clear plastic over time. Hot beverages can soften the material and change the fit of the retainer. If you want to drink something other than water, take the retainer out, store it in its case, drink, rinse your mouth, and put the retainer back in. The same rule applies during the day if you ever wear your retainer beyond nighttime hours.