Permanent or Removable Retainers: Which is Right for You?
When the time to remove your braces finally arrives, it is very exciting. Unfortunately, it can be somewhat confusing, too, because you are faced with choosing between two kinds of retainers. Should you go with permanent, removable, or a combination of the two? It is always wise to follow your orthodontist’s recommendations, but knowing more about the two types of retainer beforehand can be helpful.Removable Retainers
Removable retainers offer the advantage of easy use: you will generally put a removable retainer in at night and take it out in the morning. Regardless of your retainer schedule, you’ll be able to enjoy some time with no retainer. However, a removable retainer can easily be forgotten at times, and this means you won’t be taking full advantage of teeth retention.
Another potential advantage of a removable retainer is that you can take it out and brush and floss your teeth with ease, which is more of a challenge with a permanent retainer. Although removable retainers can be very effective, they don’t tend to be as effective as permanent retainers, especially if they are not used as directed.
Permanent Retainers
Permanent retainers are the clear choice for patients who want to “get it and forget it.” Once your permanent retainer is placed in your mouth, you won’t need to worry about daily retainer schedules, since it is permanently affixed to your teeth.
Because teeth begin to shift naturally as we age, a permanent retainer typically offers better long-term results for teeth straightening than a removable one. You can’t forget to put it in — it’s already there! Temporary retainers get lost or are forgotten on trips, and often fail to get used as often as they should be.
One drawback to permanent retainers is flossing. Some patients find it more difficult to floss with a permanent retainer, but we can show you effective ways to floss fairly quickly with your permanent retainer.
Some orthodontists may recommend a combination of the two; for example, a removable retainer for the top teeth and a permanent one for the lower ones because the lower teeth are smaller and tend to shift more.
Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that wearing your retainer as directed is extremely important. As long as you follow our orthodontist’s advice, you will get the best results from your retainer, regardless of its type.
Dr.george bardawil -ORTHODONTIST www.drgeorgebardawil.com, info@drgeorgebardawil.com, Invisalign premier provider, speciality clinics center, st maamari,12th floor hamra,beirut lebanon Hamra clinic 961-1-747644 Fanar clinic 961-1-873718 mobile 961-3-542724
IDEAL OCCLUSION. An ideal occlusion is that which shows a perfect smile line, there is no crowding, no overlap, no rotations or spacing of teeth. In a perfect world, there is a perfect pattern in the closure of 32 permanent teeth. This ideal occlusion rarely exists. A normal occlusion is one which shows some deviation from that of the ideal but is aesthetically acceptable and functionally stable for the individual. 
CLASS I MALOCCLUSION. The jaw relationship is relatively normal but your teeth may be very crowded and unattractive. 
CLASS II MALOCCLUSION (Overbite). This is an overjet (commonly called an overbite). This is where a discrepancy lies between the upper and lower jaws (usually the lower jaw has not kept the same rate of growth as the upper jaw) 
CLASS III MALOCCLUSION (Underbite). An underbite can be a result of the upper jaw not keeping the same rate of growth as the lower jaw and/or the lower jaw is growing forward in excess. 
Crowding presents itself as a general overlap of teeth in each jaw. You can see from the photographs the generalized overlapping of teeth and the extent of the crowding.
A crossbite is a positional problem, where one or more of opposing upper and lower teeth bite on the wrong side of each other. This may affect either the front or the back teeth. In the growing child these crossbites may affect the growth pattern of either jaw and may cause a permanent skeletal change.
A deep bite occurs when the upper front teeth cover the lower front teeth too much. In some cases the lower front teeth might damage the gums behind the upper teeth.
During the normal eruption pattern, the permanent teeth generally dissolve the roots of the deciduous (baby or primary teeth) as they erupt into the mouth. The end result is that the baby teeth fall out and are replaced almost immediately by the permanent successor.
Excess spacing describes the condition of when there are noticeable gaps between the teeth.
The midline of our upper and lower teeth should generally coincide. A discrepancy of this midline is when the middle of the upper and lower teeth does not align. This can be due to the upper or lower teeth moving to the left or right or a combination of both. Various factors can result in a midline shift such as the premature loss of baby teeth, retained baby teeth, crowding, missing teeth and tooth size issues.
The number of teeth affects the look or aesthetic appearance of the smile and the function of the jaws and the teeth. In cases of missing anterior (front) teeth, symmetry plays an important role in whether it is best to have a missing tooth/teeth replaced or the space of the missing tooth closed. Missing teeth may result from hereditary causes (quite common) or environmental factors such as decay, accidents where teeth may have been knocked out, or the failure of teeth to erupt, which leads to an impaction.
An openbite refers to a vertical open space when the upper teeth do not overlap the lower teeth at all. Ideally the upper front teeth should overlap the lower teeth by 1.5mm—2 mm. Openbites may result from environmental factors such as thumb/finger sucking, tongue thrust swallowing, mouth breathing and pacifiers. 
Angulations of teeth refer to the alignment of the long axis of the teeth in a line from the chewing surface along the root. Incorrect angulations may be caused by lack of space for the tooth to erupt or it may mean that something in the jaw is causing the tooth to tilt. Some examples of this would be a retained baby tooth, an extra tooth or a cyst.
When baby teeth do not erupt along with the adjacent adult teeth, the baby teeth seem to submerge. This can become severe enough for the baby teeth to eventually be covered by gum tissue. If this occurs, the adjacent permanent teeth may tilt over the submerged baby tooth/teeth and create localized crowding.
