After braces, the use of retainers is absolutely crucial if one does not want the teeth to move back into their original position. More and more parents are asking their teens if they have their retainers on. This is an important thing if they want the after effects of the braces treatment to continue.

But, findings have shown that there isn’t much information available on retainers and the different kinds that are there to choose from. According to Case Western Reserve's Manish Valiathan, who is an assistant professor of orthodontics and a member of the American Board of Orthodontics there is a drastic lack of information about braces although it is one device that is so commonly used in orthodontics practice.

• That is how the study on three vital things has come about
• How people are using retainers
• Which types are prescribed most commonly by dentist and

what happens when patients don't use a retainer.In this research, 2,000 surveys were sent out to orthodontists throughout the country. A response was received from 658 practitioners and the answers to what retainers they used was that most of them asked their patients to use removable retainers; about 40 percent opted for fixed lingual retainers that, once in place, are worn for life.

Post-braces, most orthodontists recommend wearing removable retainers full-time for the first nine months and then part-time after that. Most dentists suggested that their patients wear retainers at least part-time throughout their life.

Valiathan said that retainers were necessary to ensure that the teeth remained in the their new places and that the treatment be effective however how long the retainers should be worn certainly needed more research. There is more study required about the use and duration of retainers.

The patients who were studied responded that 60 percent wore retainers for more than 10 hours a day in the first three months. 69 percent wore them every single night. By the time, retainer users reached 19 to 24 months, 19 percent were not wearing retainers but 81 percent were even if it was only one night a week. About 4 percent never wore their retainers at all. The good news is that age, gender and the type of retainer did not affect the use of retainers.

There is more study required in this about what kinds of conditions require long-term retainer use.