End of treatment/Retainer questions

Message

#1 Post by **jimmy18** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:47 am

Hey, I haven't posted here in a long time but I thought I would stop by to ask a couple questions.

At my last visit my orthodontist said that I am getting close to the end of treatment. Although he didn't give me a time frame, the ortho's assistant said that he is working on the finishing details. So I started to think about the retainers that will be on their way.

At the beginning of treatment, I asked my ortho if he uses bonded upper retainers as well as removable retainers at the end of treatment. His answer was no he only uses the removable for the top and he does use bonded for the bottom.

Most of the people that I know have both bonded and removable upper retainers, and that is the route I would like to go to. Would it be wrong of me to insist on having a bonded upper retainer as well as the removable retainer? After all I have sunk nearly $5000 into this process, shouldn't I be happy at the end.

I did take it upon myself to call a few other ortho offices in my area and ask if they utilized both on patients, and they all said yes. I even asked if it were possible for them to put the bonded on me after I was finished with my current treatment, again they said yes. Although they were not able to give me a quote over the phone.

Has anyone else on here had a similar situation?.

One last note I will post pictures of my progress once the braces are off. For those that remember I did post pictures and the beginning, but none during treatment.

#2 Post by **Attagirl2** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:48 am

Hi jimmy. I have a removeable upper and bonded lower. I wanted removeable lower, but the orthodontist said they were too bulky and he didn't use them. For the most part, he let me make a lot of decisions as we went along. I have a Hawley upper - my decision. Also, when asked if I wanted an Essix lower, I declined because of previously not being able to wear something like it. Why not ask your orthodontist he if will do it for you? Or, call the office as someone with a question and see what they answer...

#3 Post by **jimmy18** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:40 pm

Thanks for the reply.

I have asked in the past if he would use an upper bonded retainer, and he has said no. That is why I started to call other orthos to see what they do, and if they would put one in for me.

To clarify my original post my ortho uses
Lower: bonded
Upper: removable

I would like to have
Lower: bonded
Upper: Bonded and a removable for at night.

#4 Post by **jimmy18** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:19 pm

#5 Post by **jimmy18** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:09 pm

#6 Post by **jcdamon3** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:03 pm

something to think about. If you teeth are really translucent the dark metal behind could potentially make your teeth look darker. It is okay on the bottom because they don't show as much. Just a thought. Some people have thinner more translucent teeth than others. I have heard of people have both upper and lower bonded retainers but it is definitely NOT the norm.