Retainer users - read and respond!!

[Lyn]

Help! I know I posted earlier about my NEW retainers.....but I have another question for you if you wear the ESSIX type (invisalign).

First of all, I am supposed to wear them for the next 6 mos., 24/7.

I have found out though, that I have to take them out everytime I eat or drink something. I am wondering if this is going to cause ALOT of shifting of my teeth.
You can't have HOT drinks with them in, and I realize that I "snack" alot, which makes me have to remove them [to eat].

Help!!! I am going to mess up all the work that my braces did, because of taking these retainers IN and OUT, IN and OUT, IN and OUT!!!!!

[Lyn]

OK Anbody out there...........??????????????

I'd love to hear your opinions on this one............

[onny]

I had Essix too 10 years ago, and I remember I was not allowed to eat or drink with it, it even was totally impossible. I just needed to wore them 1 month 24/7 and then 1 year only at night.

This time I for the 24/7 retainer phase I will use my fixed braces for an extended time in my mouth. and then a night retainer (non essix this time)

I don't think that removing them for just eating, that you teeth will shift in a recognizable amount. Stop snacking alot then, its not good for you teeth anyway if you rise different sugar and acid levels 100 times a day.

[nico07]

I wear retainers and I snack quite a lot, I have juvinile diabetes so I have to.

You just do it and your teeth don't move in that short a time.

[onny]

I stopped snacking 100 times a day several years ago, and now with braces my ortho suggested to not do that to often a day especially with candy's.
I haven't eaten a single candy, except rarely chocolate bars the last years.

Had a bad time 5 years ago with just coke and candy, which damaged my teeth quite alot, don't want to repeat that faulty diet.

[onny]

Very interesting point, would like to know more about this theory, that you live longer when you snack alot! If you find a resource about it, share it with us please. Only disadvantage is the raised sugar and acid level in you mouth, and so higher chance of caries or other problems.
I had unfortionately 5-6 caries on the sides of some of my molars, in the time i ate and drank just sweet stuff all day without a break. since i stopped the daily Coke and candy, I only got 1 new caries the last 5 years and no more then.

The retainer question interest me too, but I think i already know how it is done after my treatment, staying in my fixed braced a bit longer (thats why 36 months instead of 32) and then a small hidden fixed wire behind the teeth, which remains the ability to eat and doesn't annoy a single second like a removable retainer. It also stays for years or even forever, so teeth cant easily move back to old positions again =) How many ppl here prefer such a fixed retainer?

[nico07]

I snack on yogurt, fruit, cereal type thing and yes there is research to prove it is better for you to eat every 2-4 hrs-it regulates your metabolism.

I wear a bonded retainer on the bottom, that I'll have for life and it doesn't bother me at all, not hard to clean either. My teeth on the bottom haven't moved. There are also no dietary restrictions, i.e. popcorn.

[Lyn]

Well, I called my dentist who I trust and have seen for 30 yrs. (not my ortho - cause he was out of town). He told me that the retainers are for retention purposes and it is expected for them to come IN and OUT Of the mouth regularly.

I don't snack on SWEETS - - but like Karen said I eat 4-5 small meals through out the day. It is healthier for you. Nuts, yogurts, fruits, etc. However, it is difficult to get through the ritual of cleaning each time [with the retainer]. It is much easier with braces.

I still haven't gotten over the fact that I need to use the waterpik, floss and brush each time I eat something. I still expect to find "hidden" food somewhere, hehehe.

The saliva issue has calmed down quite a bit and the talking is getting easier. The hard part now is getting used to not chewing gum, mints, cough drops, etc!! UGH

[onny]

Exactly bracedagain, but you need some facts to convince your ortho to make it that way, probably. They usually don't like to let the fixed braces in longer than absolutely needed, because of the increased need of cleaning and increased chance of caries. They also don't expect someone volunteer wear it longer than needed and also expect people prefer loose braces over fixed. I absolutely prefer fixed over loose, that damn plastic on loose is so annoying! I wore some years of bionator and other appliances when i was 9-14 ~ And i don't wanna repeat a single of that annoying appliance, including Essix at the end.

Lyn: 4-5 meals I also eat regular, that doesn't count as snack for me. Its standard things like Breakfast, Lunch, etc. And after each of those meals I clean my teeth, 3 times of it brush, other times just rinse and use interdental brush on braces. To much brush would be produce negative effects, so I do it exactly 3 times a day. no more and no less.

[nico07]

Hi onny;
I think that I would prefer a fixed retainer too. It should be a lot less bothersome than a hawley or even an essex type. I don't yet know what my ortho likes to do in that phase but, like you,I think that keeping my braces on as a retainer for a while would be better than retainers. That way you don't have to mess with all that extra plastic in your mouth. That is something to add to my Q list. Thanks for the reminder about that.

braced again, maybe I'm not familiar with this, but I think you almost always have to wear retainers as it is retention. I dunno??

[onny]

I will ask about it, but more at the end of the treatment.
I didn't got that idea my own, but it got inspired by some other ppl around here who did it the same. So I expect it can work.

[venusasaboy]

i am a nutrition major so for those of you interested about eating several snacks a day, it's true, you should be eating 6-8 small meals instead of 3 big ones. not only with your metabolism constantly be digesting, but your body will be able to digest food faster and more efficiency and you will never be hungry. of course, the snacks shouldn't be chocolate or cookies or anything like that. more like fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads or non-fat dairy products. chips are the most cavity causing food, despite what some of you may think. carbohydrates are what causes caries (cavities) which, though found in sweets, are going to also stick in between your teeth (you know how chips go) and that is why they are the most cavity causing.
about the retainer thing, if you snack just make sure to put your retainers right back in and do not forget about them. i had this problem with rubber bands because i'd eat then always forget to put them back. just remember and your teeth shouldn't move. i mean eating a small snack shouldn't take you more then 5-7 minutes because remember you're supposed to be eating small things not huge meals!