Bellevue's trusted dentist for over 35 years.
Dr. Michael Beke, DMD, is an Academy of General Dentistry Fellow who builds a retention plan into every orthodontic case.
Protect the smile you worked for with a retention plan built around you.
★★★★★ 5.0 (179+ Google Reviews)You finished orthodontic treatment, and your smile finally looks the way you always hoped it would. Now comes the part that gets overlooked more than it should: keeping those results in place. Teeth naturally drift over time, and without a plan for the retention phase, months of careful Invisalign treatment or traditional bracket work can slowly shift back toward where you started.
At Lifetime Smiles Bellevue, we treat retainers as part of the treatment itself, not an afterthought handed to you on your last visit. Dr. Michael Beke has spent over a decade guiding patients through both the active phase of orthodontic care and the retention phase that keeps those changes for good. We want every patient who walks out of our Bellevue office with a straighter smile to keep that smile for decades, and retainers are how we make that happen.
Teeth are not fixed in place the way they might feel once your braces or clear aligners come off. The ligaments and bone surrounding each tooth continue adjusting for months after active treatment ends, which means teeth can and do move if nothing holds them in their new position.
This is why we build a retention plan into every orthodontic case from the start rather than treating it as a separate conversation later. Research on retainer wear backs this up directly. A cross-sectional survey of patients who completed fixed appliance treatment found that most respondents reported wearing removable retainers to keep their teeth straight, and factors like age and employment status were linked to how consistently people wore them. The pattern is clear across the research: the patients who stick with their retainer schedule are the ones who keep their results.
Skipping retainer wear, even for what feels like a short break, gives teeth an opening to shift. This process, often called relapse, can happen gradually enough that patients do not notice until the changes are already visible in the mirror. Some movement is minor and barely detectable, while other cases involve noticeable crowding or spacing that essentially undoes months of treatment.
The good news is relapse is largely preventable with the right retention habits. We walk every patient through exactly how often to wear their retainer and for how long, based on where they are in the retention timeline, so there is no guesswork involved.
Every patient’s bite, treatment history, and lifestyle are different, so we do not put everyone into the same retainer. We evaluate what will hold your specific results best and talk through the options with you directly during your visit.
Removable retainers, whether clear plastic trays or wire-and-acrylic designs, give patients the flexibility to take them out for eating, brushing, and special occasions. They tend to work well for patients who want a low-profile option and are committed to a consistent wear schedule, particularly in the early months after treatment when full-time wear matters most.
Fixed retainers are thin wires bonded to the back of the front teeth, and they stay in place around the clock without any daily effort from the patient. We often recommend these for patients whose teeth had significant rotation or spacing before treatment, since a bonded wire removes the risk of forgetting to wear a removable device.
Many patients benefit from a combination of both types, wearing a fixed retainer on the lower teeth and a removable retainer on the upper arch, or some similar split depending on what their bite needs. Once your active treatment through our general dentistry or Invisalign plan wraps up, we build your retention approach around what will realistically fit your daily routine.
A retainer only works if it is worn on schedule and kept clean and undamaged. Removable retainers should be rinsed after each use and cleaned regularly with a soft brush and a non-abrasive cleaner, since bacteria and plaque can build up on the appliance just as they would on natural teeth.
Fixed retainers need a bit more attention during brushing and flossing, since food and plaque can collect around the bonded wire. We check the condition of fixed retainers at your regular visits, which is one more reason we encourage patients to keep up with their dental exams and cleanings on schedule even after orthodontic treatment ends. A retainer that has cracked, loosened, or stopped fitting properly needs to be addressed quickly, since a poorly fitting retainer can allow teeth to shift just as quickly as no retainer at all.
Patients who completed a full smile makeover involving orthodontic movement alongside other cosmetic work have an extra reason to stay consistent with retainer wear, since protecting that investment means protecting every part of the result, not just the alignment.
Retainers wear out over time, and a retainer that no longer fits snugly is not doing its job. Clear plastic retainers can develop small cracks or become cloudy and warped from heat exposure, while wire retainers can loosen at the bond point or bend out of shape.
We recommend bringing any retainer that feels loose, causes discomfort, or shows visible damage in for an evaluation rather than waiting until your next scheduled visit. Catching an ill-fitting retainer early gives us the chance to adjust or replace it before any meaningful shifting occurs, which is a much simpler fix than addressing relapse after the fact.
Dr. Michael Beke brings a background shaped by more than a decade leading this practice and years of hands-on experience managing complex dental cases during his service with the 82nd Airborne Division, giving him a steady, detail-oriented approach to every stage of treatment, including the retention phase that comes after your smile is finished. Our team focuses on quality over quantity and takes the time to walk you through exactly what your retainer routine should look like, because a smile you worked to achieve deserves a real plan to protect it.
If you recently finished orthodontic treatment or want to have your current retainer checked for fit and condition, our Bellevue team is ready to help. You can reach out through our contact form to schedule a visit and make sure your results are set up to last.
Lifetime Smiles offers dental services including general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, family dentistry, sedation dentistry and emergency dentistry. Contact our office in Bellevue, WA to schedule your appointment today!
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