Here’s What To Do If You Lose Your Retainer

You’ve double checked the case, you’ve triple checked the medicine chest, and you’ve quadruple checked your mouth. It’s time to face facts—you’ve lost your retainer. 

So what’s next? Allow the waves of panic that your teeth will immediately reverted to their original crooked positions subside, and listen up. “Losing your retainer is not an emergency,” says Dr. Billie Zoldan, a Candid network orthodontist based in New York City. But she’s quick to note that you should still remedy the issue as soon as you can. 

Yes, you do need a new retainer

“Everyone is different and everyone’s teeth move differently,” says Dr. Zoldan, adding that “certain cases move quicker than others.” For example, she notes that “patients that start with spacing or severe crowding tend to rebound the fastest” once they get a new retainer. Once you’re certain that it’s lost, get in touch with your orthodontist as soon as you can. Your retainer plays a major role in keeping your teeth in place once they’ve been straightened, Dr. Zoldan explains—which means that without it, your teeth may begin to relapse, shifting slowly out of place due to the different forces at work in your mouth.

If you brush off a lost retainer like it’s nothing, you could end up spending thousands of dollars to essentially restart your teeth straightening process all over again.

Getting a new Candid retainer is easy  

If you’re a Candid patient, replacing a retainer is incredibly easy—and frankly, a pretty compelling reason to straighten your teeth with Candid in the first place. Though active tooth movement can take, on average, about 6 months, retention lasts as long as you want your teeth to stay in place, so it’s wise to choose a treatment that makes retention as simple as Candid does.  

By the time you’ve finished treatment, we’ve know precisely where your teeth are and the exact shape of your retainer. All we have to do is produce a new one and send it your way. All you have to do is contact patient support in CandidApp and they'll help you get a new one pronto.   

Getting a new traditional retainer, not so much 

To replace a traditional wire retainer, however, is far more effort and expense. For one, you’ll need your orthodontist to take new dental impressions or an intraoral scan. Then, as Dr. Zoldan explains, the price of a new retainer can range between $200 and $500 per arch (aka your lower or upper jaw), depending on what kind of appliance you need.

If you've gone the route of traditional orthodontics, please get that new retainer quickly. But if you've made the smart choice and got treatment with Candid, there's no need to sweat. A new retainer is just a tap away.