I used to use this forum back in 2004/2005, when I was in braces. I was in braces for about 18 months and having seen everyone's photos I was so optimistic about what my end results would be.
When the braces came off I was really disappointed ... my teeth looked so small and rounded, not at all like the hollywood smile I'd dreamed of. Dunno how or why i'd lulled myself into thinking that the ortho would manage to work magic and totally change my smile ... looking back i now know he could only work with what he was given and I was being totally niave.
Anyway, to cut a long story short i remember having loads of regrets when my braces came off, thinking I'd just wasted my £2000 and should have gone for veneers (my teeth are spaced out, small and very rounded). I had to wear those plastic retainers (essix?) but hated the feel of them in my mouth and they were always really painful as my ortho had removed my braces as soon as my teeth were in place, not allowing my teeth enough time to settle so every time I'd take the retainers out they'd start to move and my teeth would really hurt when I put them back in. I also found that i was subconciously removing them in my sleep. On one such occasion I woke up to find I'd slept on my retainer and it had cracked
I was really silly. I know I should have gone back to my ortho but I was too blase about the whole thing and stopped wearing my retainers altogether (probably 3/4 after the braces had come off).
After a few months my teeth started to move and I was really pleased as the more they started to stick out, the bigger they looked and the less gummy my smile looked. Unfortunately that didnt last, they carried on moving and the gaps began to reappear. I'm now at a stage where they've pretty much moved back to the way they originally were.
I really want to regain the smile I had back in 2006, when my teeth had moved but still looked quite big but dunno how to go about it. I really dont want to go back into braces but invisalign wont be suitable (thats what i was told by my dentist when i first spoke to him about getting braces). I'd love to get veneers but couldn't afford them as pretty much all of my teeth would need to be done, plus my teeth still sometimes get sore which makes me think theyre still moving.
What would yo do? If i did have to get braces again I would defo ask for a fixed retainer!
