The second half of orthodontic treatment, and the part that decides whether the first half was worth paying for.
Reviewed by Dr Sanjana Sudarshan
Published August 2021
Last reviewed October 2025
A retainer holds your teeth in their new position after orthodontic treatment. It is not an accessory to braces or aligners, it is the second half of the treatment, and it is the part that determines whether you keep what you paid for.
Teeth move for your entire life. That is not a flaw in orthodontic treatment, it is simply how the mouth works: the fibres around each tooth have a memory, the bone continues to remodel, and the jaw keeps changing slowly for decades. Left unretained, teeth drift back towards where they started, and the front teeth are usually the first to show it.
Relapse is the single most common way good orthodontic results are wasted, and it is entirely preventable. The pattern is familiar: treatment finishes at 17, the retainer gets worn less and less through university, and by the mid-twenties the teeth are crowded again and a second course of treatment costs several thousand pounds. The retainer that would have prevented it costs from £250.
This is why we cost retention into every orthodontic plan from the outset rather than presenting it as an optional extra at the end. Anyone who sells you braces or aligners without discussing retention has not told you what the treatment actually involves.
Clear, custom-made and virtually invisible, worn mostly at night once the initial phase is over. They are straightforward, comfortable and easily replaced, and because they are removable they depend entirely on you wearing them. From £250 per arch.
Made by the manufacturer of Invisalign from a more robust material than standard clear retainers, and supplied as three sets per arch, which means you have replacements ready when one wears out or gets lost. £600 for three sets per arch, which works out well if you know you lose things.
A thin wire bonded to the back of the front teeth, invisible from the front and permanently in place. The advantage is obvious: it works whether you remember it or not. The trade-off is that it needs cleaning around carefully with floss threaders or interdental brushes, and it can debond without you noticing, which is why reviews matter. £300 per arch, with repairs at £150.
Many patients end up with a fixed retainer behind the front teeth and a removable one for night wear. The combination covers both failure modes: the fixed wire holds the teeth most likely to relapse, and the removable retainer covers the rest.
For removable retainers, we take a digital scan of your teeth, so there are no impressions, and the retainer is made to fit precisely. Fitting takes around 30 minutes, and we check the fit, show you how to insert and remove it without distorting it, and explain the wear schedule.
For fixed retainers, the wire is contoured and bonded to the inside of the front teeth. There is no drilling and no anaesthetic. We then check the bite and show you how to clean around it, which is the part people get wrong.
We can also replace retainers you have lost, and repair or replace fixed retainers fitted elsewhere.
Indefinitely, and we would rather be straight with you about that than tell you what you want to hear. Wear is usually full-time for a short initial period, then nights only, and that night-time wear continues for as long as you want your teeth to stay where they are.
The good news is that night-time wear is undemanding once it becomes habit. The patients who lose their results are almost never the ones who found it difficult, they are the ones who stopped for a fortnight and never restarted.
Clean removable retainers daily with a soft brush and cool water. Never use hot water, which distorts the plastic, and never put them in a dishwasher. Keep them in their case when they are out, because the two most common ways retainers die are being wrapped in a napkin and thrown away, and being sat on. If your retainer feels tight after a break in wear, that is your teeth telling you they have started to move. Do not force it, and call us.
Our retainers team
Meet the team who will look after you.
Specialist Orthodontist
Sanjana is a specialist orthodontist passionate about crafting beautiful smiles, from Invisalign and ceramic braces to complex multi-disciplinary cases, with a comprehensive, holistic approach to treatment planning.
Orthodontic Therapist
Farah Anad is our orthodontic therapist. In her current practice, she has thoroughly immersed herself in the Invisalign system as well as traditional and lingual braces. Since gaining her diploma in Orthodontic Therapy from King’s College London in 2015, she has dedicated the past decade…
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Why choose us
Costs
Priced per arch. Replacements and repairs available, including for retainers fitted elsewhere.
New patient consultation £240. Your dentist will confirm the exact cost after your consultation.
Find us
38 Queen Anne Street, Marylebone, London W1G 8HZ. A short walk from Bond Street and Oxford Circus.
Book an appointment, whether you need your first retainer, a replacement, or a repair to one fitted elsewhere.
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