A patient finishes treatment, receives a retainer and wears it diligently for a year. Then a fortnight on holiday without it, then a month, then it stops fitting, and eighteen months later she is back asking why her teeth have moved.
She was told at the handover. It was a lot of information on an exciting day and none of it was written down where she could find it two years later.
The checklist
Publish these and the results last.
1. That retention is long term
Said plainly, before treatment starts, not at the end. Patients making a decision about eighteen months of braces should know they are committing to something ongoing.
2. The wear schedule
Full time initially, then nights, then a stated long-term pattern. A specific schedule is followed and a vague instruction is not.
3. The types of retainer
Removable and fixed, what each involves, the advantages of each and whether both are used together. Patients do not know the options and often assume they get whatever they are given.
4. Replacement cost and process
What a replacement costs, how quickly one can be made, whether impressions or a scan are needed and whether a spare can be ordered. Patients lose them and then do nothing because they do not know what it costs.
5. What to do if it does not fit
That a retainer which suddenly feels tight or will not seat means teeth have moved and the practice should be contacted rather than forcing it. This single instruction prevents a lot of damage.
6. Fixed retainer maintenance
That a bonded retainer can debond without the patient noticing, what to check and how often it should be reviewed. A failed fixed retainer is silent.
7. Cleaning and care
How to clean a removable retainer, what damages it, and what happens with hot water, dishwashers and napkins in restaurants. The napkin is a genuinely common cause of loss.
8. What relapse means
That movement can occur, what limited relapse looks like and what the options are. Explaining this calmly before it happens makes a returning patient a conversation rather than a complaint.
9. Whether review appointments are included
For how long, how often and what happens afterwards. Patients who know they have a check next year keep wearing the retainer.
10. The cost if retreatment is needed
Whether a short retreatment is available at a reduced fee and what the alternatives are. Being honest prevents a patient feeling the original treatment failed.
11. What to do years later
Patients return after a decade having lost everything. Publishing how that is handled, and that they will not be lectured, brings them back rather than losing them to a cheaper alternative online.
12. Set expectations before treatment
Retention belongs in the initial conversation, which connects to treatment length questions patients ask before starting and treatment length and appointment questions for orthodontists.
13. Aftercare needs publishing everywhere
The same discipline appears in aftercare questions after cosmetic treatments, and knowing what an assistant must not answer is covered in how to handle sensitive questions in your chatbot.
Getting started
Publish your retention guidance, replacement costs and what to do if something changes, then answer at any hour. SpideyChat for dental practices answers from your published pages and never gives clinical advice. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.