Adjusting a Hawley retainer...WTK proper way..and some other questions as well

[Solid Snake DDS]

Greetings all,

What is the proper way to adjust a hawley retainer (i.e. Maxillary)?

I was taught to bend the portion of the ball clasp emerging from the acrylic towards the gingiva direction. Also bend the final bend (the bend that points the ball clasp towards the undercut) towards the gingiva as well.

For the outer labial bow, I was taught to activate/adjust it by making the canine loop smaller (bending the two legs towards each other).

Is this correct? Any other method to adjust a hawley retainer after it becomes loose (due to normal wear)?

Okay....a couple of more questions. I'm aware the ball clasps serves as a retention factor. Does it have any other function? What if one of the ball clasp is broken (i.e. the one between the 1st PM and 1st Molar-- 2nd dentition)? Is it necessary to repair it if retention is already good (the contralateral ball clasps and canine loops seems to provide sufficient retention)? Wound a broken ball clasp cause teeth to shift?

Okay..one last question. Which part (s) of the hawley retainer actually prevent relapse (teeth from shifting)? I'm guessing the outer labial bow and canine loop..

Thanks in advance

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[reapply2007]

bump.

 

[OceanDMD]

With a three prong, depending on the direction of the prongs, and where they are placed on the loops, the bow position is changed (tightened/loosened/moved inciso-gingivally). The ball clasps are tightened with two prong/bird beak pliers. Dont think too much about it. It really is straight forward, and if you screw up you can always bend it back.
The acrylic usually has scalloped edges where the linguals of the teeth sit. This in combination with the bow helps to prevent relapse.

 

[DrJeff]

Personally I find that about 98% of the time that I'm bending ANY metal clasp (Hawley, RPD, etc) that my first adjustment will overtighten to the point where you can't even fully insert the appliance, than after a couple more tweaks with the pliers everything is fine

 

[Solid Snake DDS]

Great... Just wanted to double check.
I just wanted to be prepared when I go through my Ortho rotations. I'm still just a D-Student.......so any and all info is helpful..

Thanks