Retainer

[Nick]

I just got my braces removed today finallllyyy and they put in a wire behind my back front teeth and the back of my bottom ones like this which is a retainer wire so your teeth don't shift.



I was told I have to wear removable retainers 24/7 for 3 weeks and then after that only at night. I really don't want to wear them all day seeing as at the moment im in the middle of doing this course which requires a lot of communication and I seriously cannot speak with the retainers on I sound like an idiot although I know I will get used to it. I was googling about the wire because apparently some dentists just put the wire in and tell their patients to wear them at night only, I would have no problem just wearing them at night but I just think its a pain in the ass since I've gotten these wires and I still have to wear the removable ones all day as well as taking them out when I eat and drink...

Apparently around 6 - 7 hours is too long to have them off according to someone on google although I don't know if they had the wire.

Also I read this

After all, retention devices are a form of braces anyway. Removable retainers are cumbersome to wear, and also to chew with. Some orthodontists prefer using “fixed” retainers, which are wires that are glued to the bakcs of teeth, and hold front teeth together. Teh wires prevent the teeth from drifting apart or together, or becoming crooked again.

Surely that they are the same thing and the wires on the back of my teeth are there for when I don't have the removeable ones in????

I am sure someone else has had this experience ?

[Empired]

I had braces, then I had to wear a removable retainer 24/7 for three months, then my orthodontist put a permanent retainer (literally just a metal wire 1cm thick) behind my back teeth which I now completely forget about and I combine that with wearing a removable plastic retainer over my top teeth at night.

If you've been told to wear a retainer all day, do it. I'm so glad I did what my orthodontist told me to do because now my teeth are SO much better. It's such a waste of time to have worn those braces for all that time and gone through all that goddamn pain of having them tightened just to fall at the last hurdle when you don't wanna wear your retainer.

If you're really opposed to sounding like an idiot take it out during your school hours only until you get used to speaking in it. I was speaking normally wearing it after 3 days and then no one noticed.

Permanent 'invisible' retainers aren't always an option, particularly for your top teeth as they can still kinda tip backwards because only the part of the tooth closest to the root is being protected.

Basically just do as your orthodontist tells u x

[lemons]

after my braces were taken off i was given removable retainers only and kept my retainers on for about 3 months but by the end i was only really wearing them when i went to bed

if you have been given them put them in! you will see results and i doubt those stupid wires will do much on their own

the lisp you will get used to after less than a week

when my brother was younger he didn't put his retainers in very much if at all and now his teeth are all ****** up again!

[Nick]

Yeah I was thinking about just taking them out while im at the course @Empired; which is like 9 - 4 so 7 hours, do you think they will move a lot in 7 hours and then wearing them for the rest of the hours in the day incl when I sleep.

Im just annoyed that when I put my retainer in and if i smile or something you can see a small gap from wheren the plastic sits ontop of each other opposed to without them my front teeth overlap nicely, or im just over looking it and paranoid which I shouldnt be.

I am doing a cert 3 in hospitality and its bar tendering/barista related which requires to constantly taste drinks etc etc and apparently you can't drink with them on?? So I would be taking them out all the damn time plus having to wash my hands again because I just put my hands in my mouth?

[Empired]

Yeah I was thinking about just taking them out while im at the course @Empired; which is like 9 - 4 so 7 hours, do you think they will move a lot in 7 hours and then wearing them for the rest of the hours in the day incl when I sleep.

Im just annoyed that when I put my retainer in and if i smile or something you can see a small gap from wheren the plastic sits ontop of each other opposed to without them my front teeth overlap nicely, or im just over looking it and paranoid which I shouldnt be.

I am doing a cert 3 in hospitality and its bar tendering/barista related which requires to constantly taste drinks etc etc and apparently you can't drink with them on?? So I would be taking them out all the damn time plus having to wash my hands again because I just put my hands in my mouth?

You can drink with them on just fine lol. You can eat with them on too if you really want to, just sometimes food gets stuck in between the retainer and your teeth which is disgusting so most people prefer to eat with them out. Liquids are absolutely fine though.

Your teeth might move a little in 7 hours so it'll be slightly uncomfortable to put them back on, but if you wear the retainer for the rest of the time then your teeth will have moved back by the next morning again. And the longer you have it for, the longer you can go without wearing it. I can spend 3 nights without mine now and only notice a slight difference when I put it back on.

[Futz]

no matter what man just do what your orthadontist says

I didn't wear my retainer because I was an idiot when I was a kid and my bottom two front teeth have shifted slightly

it's not that drastic but its still noticeable to me

[LoveToStack]

I lost my retainer within the first week of getting my braces off (kill me). Your teeth absolutely will move. And it's not like when you have braces on and the movement is slow and unnoticeable: they move out of place quickly. You know what's much less cool than a guy wearing a retainer? A guy who wore braces for [x] years then threw it all away for no good reason. You can't undo the damage when your teeth move back.

On that note, consider as well how valuable your straightened teeth are (financially as well as aesthetically). I don't know how things go in Australia but in the UK you can get braces for free only as a child and if your teeth are bad enough to warrant it I think. Orthodontics cost thousands of pounds. Thousands of pounds worth of work all down the tubes for nothing. Please wear your retainer dude.

[Nick]

Ok thanks for that. When i was brushing my teeth last night I took them of and had a shower and I think one tooth had moved and it amazed me lmao. It still hurts atm and ive had them on for 11 hours so far, might eat something and then put them back in for the rest of the day.
@LoveToStack; You can't get braces for free as a child I don't think but yeah mine cost more than a few grand, like 7 lmao

[-:Undertaker:-]

I had braces. And I never wore retainers afterwards as I was so happy to have nothing in my mouth and just back to my normal teeth. There's been slight movement in my teeth over the years but so what. No way am I wearing that unbearable retainer for months or (forever?).

Enjoy your mouth and your teeth naturally whilst you can, because with age we'll likely lose most of them anyway.

[Cody]

I did the same exact thing after my braces were taken off! I chose to get the permanent retainer in and at first I thought I was going to get annoyed with it but after a couple of weeks you forget its there!