I want my permanent retainers out

[GeenBug]

I made a thread over a year ago about how the braces I had changed my face from a friendly one to a b**** resting face. It still affects my interaction with people, how they perceive me, how they respond to me, etc. I know extractions can change the face but I didn't get extractions or anything like that. I thought getting braces would change my life for the better but it has ruined it. I had my braces off in 2012 and almost three years later and I'm still experiencing these negative after-effects. I have now decided to get my permanent retainers removed. I want my teeth to shift back (my gaps and overbite will return but I would rather live with them than what I'm living with right now) and my face to go back to the way it was. These can only happen once these retainers are out. I know I won't notice changes overnight, of course not, but I know the removal of the retainers (I have thin, metal retainers glued on the inside of my top & bottom teeth to keep my teeth from shifting) will gradually cause my teeth to shift back and hopefully my face will change and this b**** resting face will go away. At least in a few months I should start seeing changes. I plan to book an appointment with my Dentist next week. It sucks, the 5.5 grand I spent on those braces would go down the drain but I can't take it anymore. Does anyone have any last-minute advice for me?

[adult braces]

Hey listen
I am not an orthodontist but as someone who stopped wearing her retainer and had her teeth shift majorly and who has to pay for it now on her own....I would really suggest NOT to go that route. Overbites and teeth not meeting makes them really hard to clean, and I really don't think its good for your overall dental health.

Lots of people have b--- resting face. It's just how your face is. I'm sorry its causing problems for your but it's your face! People can learn to accept it or not. Sorry, I just think it's a really bad idea--like I said, I didn't wear my retainer and I regret it so much. I'm 28 and wearing Inivisalign and it's a huge pain. Talk to your dentist I guess but I think it's bad idea.

[GeenBug]

I didn't have this brf until after my orthodontic treatment was over. Everyone in my family has a pleasant face (like I had before too), but I'm the one with this unfortunate angry face now. Again, my face wasn't like this before. It's not about people getting used to it. I meet different people everyday and it's the same thing. Me continuing like this isn't an option.

[mmkay]

Just because you have your retainers removed, I don't think you can assume your face will go back to what it was.

Given you used to have an overjet, do you now have a retruded looking maxilla?

[adult braces]

[quote="GeenBug"]I didn't have this brf until after my orthodontic treatment was over. Everyone in my family has a pleasant face (like I had before too), but I'm the one with this unfortunate angry face now. Again, my face wasn't like this before. It's not about people getting used to it. I meet different people everyday and it's the same thing. Me continuing like this isn't an option.[/quote]

Sorry that it's a problem for you. I just think it's a terrible idea to let your teeth shift back. People get braces for a reason. Also they may not shift back to the way they were, they might even get worse.

[AJP1]

Sounds like an awful idea! Please don't do it!

[Featheryy1221]

I think a lot of people have BRF to be honest. Like mmkay said, I don't think you should assume your face will go back to how it looked before completely. It might just end up looking the same, but with crooked teeth.

I have a BRF myself, but you know what helps? Making up for it by smiling more and making sure when I see people I keep remembering to make an extra effort to smile. Could part of your problem be that maybe you're super focused on the fact that you believe you have BRF and then thinking about this ends up making you look angry or annoyed when you see people?

Anyway, just make sure you are completely sure of wanting to do this, before you commit to taking your retainers out.

[jaime]

I agree that this is a terrible idea. You have no way of guaranteeing anything will change after getting your permanent retainers out, except that you'll have wasted $5500. This seems like a "grass is greener" scenario. So you'll get your retainers out, your teeth will shift, and I'm sure you're not going to love having crooked teeth again (or why else did you get braces?).

Honestly, it sounds like getting some therapy would be a better idea. I don't mean to sound so harsh but you are obviously fixated on this and wanting to go to extreme, risky measures. Therapy can help you build up your confidence and accept your new face as is. You have to want to do that, though.

[Leeshlund]

Just smile at everyone you can't have a b**chy resting face if you're always smiling use your gorgeous new teeth to your advantage!! Plus smiling spreads positivity good luck!!!

[Snowglobe32]

I'm confused....aren't only some of your teeth being held by the permanent retainers? So, by having them removed, the most it will do is make your front teeth crooked???
Or do you have a wire attached to all of your teeth?

[YellowDogTooth]

Well my advice is do what you feel is going to make you the happiest.

I feel like you probably weren't happy in the first place though if you got braces or were having some other issue that may also return.

My advice is to talk to your dentist/orthodontist and see if there are other options first. Possibly get a consult with another orthodontist who has more experience with facial aesthetics and see what they say. You may have other options.

Sometimes it can be a matter of training your lips/mouth to rest differently. It depends on why its happening. I have concerns about my end look as well. My lips are really full because I have an overjet, I know some of that will go away. If it looks really bad my back up plan is to stick brackets on my retainer wire or something (clear maybe?) so my lips rest there haha. Not ideal...but I'd be okay with it if it worked. Hoping that won't be necessary, but if it came down to it I decided I'd be okay with wearing something to make my lips look full again if that ever went away.

So maybe theres an option like that for you that would work.

Explore your options, research a bit, talk to professionals, and do what you feel you will be happiest with in the end.

[brooks]

If you have a problem with your face, you should talk to a plastic surgeon or a medspa about injectables or procedures that could "fix" your perceived problems. By removing your retainer and hoping for crooked teeth, you are creating another problem. I would definitely not do this, and I don't think an orthodontist is the type of professional that you need to be turning to at this point, since your teeth are no longer the problem that you have.

[GeenBug]

Just because you have your retainers removed, I don't think you can assume your face will go back to what it was.

Given you used to have an overjet, do you now have a retruded looking maxilla?

My nose is now more pronounced than before but my lips which were bigger bigger are now kinda curved in and look smaller.

I think a lot of people have BRF to be honest. Like mmkay said, I don't think you should assume your face will go back to how it looked before completely. It might just end up looking the same, but with crooked teeth.

I have a BRF myself, but you know what helps? Making up for it by smiling more and making sure when I see people I keep remembering to make an extra effort to smile. Could part of your problem be that maybe you're super focused on the fact that you believe you have BRF and then thinking about this ends up making you look angry or annoyed when you see people?

Anyway, just make sure you are completely sure of wanting to do this, before you commit to taking your retainers out.

Idk what it is about my smile. I'm sure I wrote in the thread I made a year and a half or so ago about how people don't smile back when I smile at them. I've a very small smile and the upper part of my lips now covers 3/4 of my smile when I attempt to smile in public now, unless I forcefully open my mouth wide. When I meet people I don't think about my face. I act normal and I'm polite but one look at my face then their countenance changes. Even if I'm just standing, minding my own business, someone will look at me and give me an angry - because they think I'm looking at them angrily. When I do try to talk to people, just the way they respond to me you can tell something isn't right, sometimes rather unfriendly and I believe these all comes from my face. I was at a store sometime late last year and this dude walked up to me to ask a question and the next thing he said was, "Have I made you upset, "Did I say anything upsetting?". I didn't know why this was happening initially until I looked in the mirror to see it for myself. I've looked in the mirror to see what people could be seeing and have noticed my mouth area is now looser than before and does this angry expression, sometimes it appears as if I'm irritated. It's not intentional, of course, my face just happens automatically now and it seems this is what people see and I cannot control it, again because even if I'm just mining my own business and someone looks at me, the look they give me isn't so pleasant, as if I'm responding to how my face is looking at them. No, none of these is in my head. I'm being honest about what I'm experiencing, though I know it's hard for people to understand b/c they're not going through it.

I agree that this is a terrible idea. You have no way of guaranteeing anything will change after getting your permanent retainers out, except that you'll have wasted $5500. This seems like a "grass is greener" scenario. So you'll get your retainers out, your teeth will shift, and I'm sure you're not going to love having crooked teeth again (or why else did you get braces?).

Honestly, it sounds like getting some therapy would be a better idea. I don't mean to sound so harsh but you are obviously fixated on this and wanting to go to extreme, risky measures. Therapy can help you build up your confidence and accept your new face as is. You have to want to do that, though.

I don't think I'm fixated. This has been happening for almost 3-yrs and I've tried to live with it. Taking my retainers off was something that came to me this week, so I actually never thought about it before or if I did I didn't give it much thought at all, till now. And I do no talk about all these with anyone, irl, mainly because no one'll understand nor do I think about it much. But when people and strangers start treating you the same way or reacting to you in very similar ways, then something's definitely wrong. I'm thinking about this for both personal and professional reasons. Accepting my face isn't the problem but I'm tired of people getting the wrong impression of me because of my face. I meet someone for the first time and it's the same thing. It has affected me in so many ways; I come home and just want to cry, at times. I'm starting a grad program in the Fall and don't want people thinking I'm angry, upset, that I'm a b**ch or whatever. This's not how I want to continue living my life. I didn't have any of these problems before, so what I'm seeing now are the results of the changes from the braces.

I'm confused....aren't only some of your teeth being held by the permanent retainers? So, by having them removed, the most it will do is make your front teeth crooked???
Or do you have a wire attached to all of your teeth?

On my upper teeth, the wire's on 5 of them.

On my lower, about 7. Lower left side: The wire already clipped off on the last tooth and it now has a small gap but it's hard to tell.

[GeenBug]

Well my advice is do what you feel is going to make you the happiest.

I feel like you probably weren't happy in the first place though if you got braces or were having some other issue that may also return.

My advice is to talk to your dentist/orthodontist and see if there are other options first. Possibly get a consult with another orthodontist who has more experience with facial aesthetics and see what they say. You may have other options.

Sometimes it can be a matter of training your lips/mouth to rest differently. It depends on why its happening. I have concerns about my end look as well. My lips are really full because I have an overjet, I know some of that will go away. If it looks really bad my back up plan is to stick brackets on my retainer wire or something (clear maybe?) so my lips rest there haha. Not ideal...but I'd be okay with it if it worked. Hoping that won't be necessary, but if it came down to it I decided I'd be okay with wearing something to make my lips look full again if that ever went away.

So maybe theres an option like that for you that would work.

Will do and I hope so. I don't mind taking out my retainers and getting re-braced for a short period, if that would help.

If you have a problem with your face, you should talk to a plastic surgeon or a medspa about injectables or procedures that could "fix" your perceived problems. By removing your retainer and hoping for crooked teeth, you are creating another problem. I would definitely not do this, and I don't think an orthodontist is the type of professional that you need to be turning to at this point, since your teeth are no longer the problem that you have.

@Bolded: No, I don't really want to go that route. I am not Kim K. My smile itself is a problem too. I had gone for a consultation at another Orthodontist who told me I would have a big smile after my treatment. I hadn't even mentioned it but he said it was one of the improvements he would make. I ended up choosing another Ortho and have nothing close to a big smile; my teeth are now kinda pushed inward, giving me a small smile - much smaller than before. I haven't visited another Orthodontist after my braces came out. I'm sure one can offer a suggestion now... I hope.

[djspeece]

I'm wondering if consultations with a plastic surgeon and an ENT surgeon might provide some possible solutions for you. Your issues really sound like they have a structural basis beyond what orthodontics can resolve. Perhaps you need implants, Botox, and/or a few nips and tucks to eliminate some of those issues. I do know that you said you don't want to go that route, but frankly I'm not sure that your issue is solely related to your orthodontics experience. I do have experience in both specialties as an RN. In any event, best of luck to you.