The Spring Hawley Retainer is useful in correcting minor rotations and crowding of up to 1-1/2mm, cuspid to cuspid in the anteriors. Because the Spring Hawley is NOT designed to gain any arch width or length, space necessary to correct this crowding is gained by judicious interproximal recontouring in the anterior region only.

Before fabrication, the lab will separate the rotated and crowded anteriors from the stone cast and reset them in an ideal alignment. The appliance is then fabricated to this corrected anterior position and sent back to you for delivery. On the day of delivery, complete the necessary interproximal recontouring, then place the appliance. When worn, the spring action of the cuspid wires will direct a light labial-lingual force to align the teeth. Since this appliance has been constructed to the “ideal” setting, it may not seat well in the patient’s mouth -- until the teeth adapt to their new position. Once the teeth are straight, the appliance can continue to be worn as a final retainer. Note: Since tooth movement is in a labial-lingual direction, adequate vertical dimension is essential. If the patient has a closed vertical and the upper and lower anteriors are already in contact, tooth movement will not occur.