Removable Appliance in Cologne – Treatment, Before & After

The cost depends on the type of appliance and the scope of treatment, and it varies from region to region and from practice to practice. A removable appliance corrects milder misalignments or stabilizes the result after treatment. Please discuss the cost and possible coverage by your health insurance with us in advance. From KIG 3 onward (the German classification of orthodontic treatment need), statutory health insurance covers the standard care; the initial patient contribution of usually 20% is refunded after the treatment has been completed successfully.

That depends on the findings. Fixed braces are suitable for more pronounced misalignments: they apply continuous pressure and therefore work faster. A removable appliance is suitable for milder cases or for stabilizing a completed result – and it can be taken out. Which option fits your goals is something we clarify together. In a randomized comparative study, pain and discomfort were overall low to moderate with both types of appliance, and both were well accepted by the children – the choice therefore depends on the misalignment, not on the design.

The wear time depends on your treatment plan. In most cases, a removable appliance should be worn at least 20 hours a day; depending on the case, it may be only a few hours at a time or around the clock. If it is worn too rarely or for too short a time, treatment slows down or comes to a standstill. Follow the wear instructions and keep your check-up appointments. Most people get used to the appliance within a few days; clean it regularly to avoid discoloration and odor.

If the removable appliance is not worn regularly, tooth movement slows down or comes to a standstill. During longer breaks, the teeth can move back toward their previous position – treatment then takes longer, or the result does not last. Wear the appliance as recommended; if you run into problems, talk to us and we will find a solution. To work, a removable appliance should generally be worn 14–16 hours a day, ideally at night as well.

The least expensive option is usually the removable appliance – it is simpler to fabricate and is not bonded to the teeth. Standard versions made of acrylic or plastic correct minor shifts and cost the least. Higher-quality materials last longer but are more expensive. The exact cost depends on the findings. If two children in one household who are under 18 at the start of treatment are in orthodontic treatment at the same time, the out-of-pocket share drops from 20 to 10 percent for the second child – and the statutory health insurance fund refunds it once the treatment has been completed as planned.

Yes – many people wear their removable appliance at night so that the teeth are adjusted continuously. Especially when the appliance is new or has just been adjusted, wearing it at night makes sense. Once the teeth are stable, it can also be taken out at night. If you sleep poorly with it at first, you can wear it during the day only until you have gotten used to it. What matters is the individual instruction you receive at the practice. Objective measurements with built-in sensors show that removable plates are worn on average about three and a half hours a day less than prescribed – which makes the night the most important and at the same time the easiest wear time.

Clean the removable appliance regularly so that bacteria and plaque do not build up – this protects the appliance, your teeth and your gums. Recommendation: rinse it with water after every meal and clean it thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Store it in a clean, dry container and clean that container regularly as well. If a removable appliance is worn for longer than three months, the oral mucosa is measurably more often colonized by yeast fungi – once the wear period ends, this returns to normal.

How long it takes to get used to it varies depending on the type of appliance (e.g. retainer, aligners or functional regulator) and on individual sensitivity. Most people get used to it within a few days to a few weeks. It helps to wear the appliance regularly, to increase the wearing time slowly and to keep it clean. In studies on speech, the initial changes in sound production caused by a removable appliance had largely disappeared after about seven days; individual sibilant sounds may take somewhat longer.

A removable appliance usually works more slowly than fixed braces because it applies less force to the teeth. How quickly something becomes noticeable depends on the degree of misalignment, on age and on the daily wearing time – it usually takes several weeks to months before a visible change appears. As a rule, this requires a wearing time of 14–16 hours per day; check-up appointments are usually needed every 6 to 8 weeks.