retainer?

[HondaRacing83]

i just got my braces off yesterday, finally! i was so relieved. then i had to go back to the orthodontist today, and i have to wear top and bottom ****ing retainers. im so pissed. they look like hell, would it really hurt any if i didnt wear them to school but put em back on when i get home. theyre kinda funky looking retainers, dentist did a hella terrible job on them. they bother the hell outta me now.

[250x_kyle]

i only had them on the top but i only wore them at night. depends on how much your teeth shift but i stopped wearing them after about 6 months

[slightlybent47]

Ask if they can be redone. Ask if you can wear them just at night.
Key word is “ask” your orthodontist.

[CJM]

I had braces too, was mad the orthodontist kept telling me for a year he was gonna take them off.

Never wore the retainer or went back after I got them off.

1 tooth shifted, I dont care. I was told by the ortho that I had to wear it till i died..

[440racer66]

like everyone said it depends with everyone i had braces and wore my retainers for a month solid then never put them on again. some of my teeth shifted slighty but nothing you can tell. so its up to you if you want them exactly like you have them now the answer is wear them religously. if you dont mind them movin a bit dont .

[quad2xtreme]

had braces twice and Clear corrects once. If you don't want you teeth to shift (and over time they will keep moving), wear the retainers. It is important to wear them a lot early on and then you get to switch to just while you sleep.

[madskrillz2]

All my friends got the clear ones and I got the metal ones of course. I wore them for about a month and said screw it. My teeth moved a little bit but I don't have chainsaw teeth by any means. You can still tell I had braces.

[ben300]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
had braces twice and Clear corrects once. If you don't want you teeth to shift (and over time they will keep moving), wear the retainers. It is important to wear them a lot early on and then you get to switch to just while you sleep.

best advice given so far...


just think about how much money your parents have sunk into the damn things (they arent cheap!)...and that, possibly, if you dont wear your retainers like your supposed to, your teeth could just go back to as bad as they were..

..now im not saying you have austin powers teeth, but for all i know you could be a hideous little monster too.....

..but if you wanna be chummin for sea pigs at the bar when your 25, by all means, dont listen to the dentis or the ortho. they dont truly care, they already have your cash.

[ben300]

just to make clear...i wore braces for 3 years....and when i got mine off, i wore the retainer like i was supposed to for two years...i had a gap between my front teeth before....so i quit wearing them....the gap over time started to reappear....not enough that you'd really notice, or that anyone for that matter would........but i notice, and wish i would have kept wearing them at night

[quad2xtreme]

I actually wore my retainers for about 10 years and all was fine. Then I got some crowns put on and the retainers would no longer fit. Everyone said they are permanently positioned now so it isn't worth $250 for new retainers. My lower teeth shifted to the point I had some overlap. Well, the Clear Corrects were $4,000. It really is your choice. I am a fanatic about straight teeth. Every girl I've ever dated had great teeth.

Added thought:

Not sure why I continued to think about this but I've realized I've hired ~100 people in my career...all of them had fairly straight teeth. Never really even thought about it before but it makes sense. I have to say I will not hire a smoker either. If you come in for an interview, I better not catch a whiff of smoke. This was a learned issue though because smokers are always outside somewhere smoking while the non-smokers are getting the work done.

[fastredrider44]

Had braces for four years on bottom only because I had an impacted tooth. My teeth were straight. Got my braces off, wore my retainer for 6 months, and slowly stopped. My teeth did move. I say wear it as much as you can.

[Scro]

My wife has a permanent retainer for her bottom teeth. It's basically just a wire that's glued to the back of the teeth. You can't see it at all, unless she points it out. I had braces for four years, and wore retainer for a couple months. My top teeth have moved slightly, more so on the bottom, in the 13-14 years I've had them off.

[rageatvsupermom]

Anyone who have braces will have to wear retainers forever after braces are removed. The reason for this is because we are always clinching and grinding our teeth so we move them. There are many different ways to make retainers, and if they are to big and bothersome go back to the orthodontist and have them remade or adjusted. Don't just not wear them, your investment will be wasted. ;)

[HondaRacing83]

im gonna wear them all the time except when i eat, go to school or go out with my friends. my braces cost more for my 400ex :O for whateverr reason there that much..

[quad2xtreme]

they are the clear trays right? I wear mine all the time...especially when I go riding. Nobody even notices them.

[ben300]

Originally posted by rageatvsupermom
Anyone who have braces will have to wear retainers forever after braces are removed. The reason for this is because we are always clinching and grinding our teeth so we move them. There are many different ways to make retainers, and if they are to big and bothersome go back to the orthodontist and have them remade or adjusted. Don't just not wear them, your investment will be wasted. ;)

i always thought it was because you can't genetically fight how you were supposed to be ...

..if the clenching and grinding was true...id have austin powers teeth, maybe even worse by now...