Retention: The Invisible Half of Treatment
It is the only thing that preserves the result you achieved.
Why teeth want to move back
Teeth are attached to bone by periodontal fibres, which stretch during movement but retain a memory of the old position, while the bone has not finished remodelling. Both processes take months, and the retainer holds the tooth while the tissues adapt.
Types of retainer
- Fixed: a fine wire bonded behind the front teeth
- Invisible and requires no compliance
- Removable clear retainer: a thin plate worn at night
- Hawley plate: the classic wire and acrylic retainer
- In most cases fixed and removable are combined
- Duration and type are decided case by case
Caring for a retainer
A fixed retainer collects plaque beneath it, so superfloss under the wire is necessary. Rinse a removable retainer in cold water and brush it gently — hot water deforms it, the commonest mistake. Keep it in its case, and report breakage or loss without delay.
Getting Here, Booking and Emergencies from Yesilyurt
Route, booking and emergency arrangements for patients from Yesilyurt.
Getting here from Yesilyurt
Yeşilyurt lies in the Kepez district of Antalya; Kepez is one of the central districts, about 6 kilometres from the clinic. We also see patients from neighbouring areas that share the route from Yesilyurt, such as Çankaya, Esentepe, Göksu, Karşıyaka. You can ask for the location on WhatsApp when travelling from Yesilyurt.
Appointments for Yesilyurt
At this distance, splitting treatment into visits is no problem for patients from Yeşilyurt, and attending reviews is easy too. As with patients from Kepez generally, appointments for families from Yesilyurt can be scheduled consecutively.
Emergencies from Yesilyurt
Setting out from Yeşilyurt at night is quick; come without delay in an emergency, and calling as you leave means preparation is done in advance. For patients coming from Dental Clinic in Yesilyurt, the clinic is open 24/7 and in an emergency the order is set by severity rather than arrival time. For spreading facial swelling, difficulty swallowing or breathing, or toothache with fever, go to the nearest emergency department.
The Link Between Oral Health and General Health
The mouth is not a region apart from the body. In advanced gum disease the total inflamed surface reaches the size of a palm, and that surface opens directly into the bloodstream.
Recognised associations
These are associations reported in research:
- Diabetes: a two-way relationship, each making the other harder
- Cardiovascular disease: through inflammatory burden
- Respiratory infections, particularly in bedbound patients
- Preterm birth and low birth weight
- Rheumatoid arthritis: shared inflammatory mechanisms
Association and causation are not the same
For most of these an association has been shown but causation is not established. We cannot say that treating gum disease prevents heart disease. What can be said is that reducing the body's chronic inflammatory burden is beneficial in any case, and gum disease is a measurable, treatable component of that burden. Exaggerated claims are common in this area and warrant caution.
What it means in practice
Where there is diabetes, cardiac disease, immunosuppression or a planned operation, oral assessment should not be neglected. This is why a dental check is requested before heart surgery and organ transplantation. Equally, in a patient with uncontrolled diabetes, gum treatment should be seen as part of managing blood sugar.
