I’ve worn out my normal retainer. My teeth haven’t budged but I know I’m supposed to still wear them. I’ve been whitening my teeth and those trays are pretty snug. My dentist will charge me over $300 for another retainer. I don’t have that kind of money at the moment. Is it possible to use my whitening trays as a retainer for now? I only wear the retainer at night. I can just use the whitening gel at the same time and sleep with it. Is that safe or do I need to suck it up and get a new retainer?
Andie
Dear Andie,
Teeth Whitening Trays Can Double as a Retainer
I think that it would be fine for you to wear your teeth whitening trays as a retainer in the short term. However, I say that with a precaution. If you notice even the slightest change in your teeth, then it will be time for you to get a true, customized retainer.
For the benefit of others who may be reading this, I’m saying this because these teeth whitening trays are recent. That means they fit her teeth in the new position. If her teeth whitening trays were from before the time she had her teeth straightened, this would not work at all.
As for the cost, I have to say I am a bit surprised at the price tag they quoted you for a retainer. It is a fairly simple thing for them to do. The process is simply a matter of your dentist making a good impression of your teeth, then pouring a model of that impression they will send that to a dental laboratory.
If it turns out the teeth whitening trays aren’t adequate to keep your teeth in place, I suggest shopping around to other dentists or orthodontists and see how much they’d charge you to make a retainer. I’m pretty sure you’d end up saving a good amount of money. There are some procedures where you are perfectly safe by price shopping. This is one of them.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.