Dear Dr Bronsky,
I just started wearing my retainer a few weeks ago and things have been going well so far, but my family has a summer vacation planned for us in a few months. I’ve been told all about how retainers can break and that they sometimes need to be replaced. What happens if my retainer breaks while I’m away from home?
–New to Retainers in the Upper East Side
Dear New to Retainers in the Upper East Side,
This is a common concern amongst many of our patients going through the retention phase of their treatment. Thankfully, it’s not common for a retainer to break or become unusable, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t important to always take precautions against this. Retainers play critical roles in maintaining the healthy teeth alignment that the orthodontic treatment attained. If the retainers aren’t worn properly, then a patient’s teeth will start to shift into misalignment.
While if your retainer were to break while you were back here, we would simply recommend visiting our practice to get your retainer fixed. If you’re away on a vacation though, that’s not exactly possible. However, there’s no need to panic – it’s important to stay calm. The next best option is to use one of our care kits. Our care kits are useful in any kind of orthodontic emergency, including if your retainer breaks. They’re travel-friendly and you should always take it with you if you’re leaving town for any lengthy amount of time. If you haven’t already gotten one from our office, please make sure to come in and get one of our care kits before you leave town. It will help you out during any emergency and it will make the entire orthodontic process go much more smoothly.
Sincerely,
Dr. Bronsky
