what are your RETAINER wear instructions

[retainerjoe]

i'm 24/7 for sure the first year, was told that could be longer , an will need to wear them every night till the end of time aftr that , an still seeing my orthodontist /tmj guy every 4 months for an year , what about YA'LL, yes i'm an ole southern guy YA'LL

[Betty Bat]

I was 24/7 for only the first two weeks, then 12 hours a day. I probably wear mine 10 hours a day rather than 12. But, my uppers have been off for over a year now and my lowers have been off for about 6 months, I've worn my retainers faithfully every night (except for the night I had food poisoning - don't ask!), and I haven't seen any shifting. Knock wood.

[SnowSara]

24/7 for 6 months, nightly forever after that. I'm not wearing it 24/7 though, my ortho hinted that I could get by with wearing it "as much as I could, but definitely every night." So I wear it on and off throughout the day and all night. I'm a big cheater, but so is my ortho, he confessed he only wore his at night!

[lionfish]

Temporary retainer FT for 2 weeks, positioner FT 48 hours then nightly for 2 months, thereafter final retainer nights only. Ortho has hinted at a few nights a week only wear in future.

[retainerjoe]

great info , it's kinda funny how differnt ortho's set different time wear , guess it has a lot to do with what your treatment involved

[SDFD TSchott]

24/7 First year
Night time wear 2nd year
Whenever I feel like there after

[retainerjoe]

one thing for sure , i'll wear them as ask , i don't want an mouthfull of hardwear agian , i haven't had a picture taken in years without HEADGEAR or BRACES an i realy like it , but agian i say IF i had to do it agian i guess i WOULD,

[jennielee81]

24/7 first year (over now) then nighttime for life.

Still have movement in my upper centrals though! Have had the hawley adjusted and told to wear 24/7 for a while longer....

WHAT EVER IT TAKES!

[retainerjoe]

how much longer did. your orthodontist say you might need to 24/7 wear, an what part of your retainer had to be adjusted the front wire or the side ones

[OneTime]

24/7 for a year then nights.

[haywire]

24 hours per day for the first week, 16 hours per day for the second week, just by night starting with the third week

i hate my essix retainer. my gums from the right side got swollen and they hurt

[hal2me]

I've been instructed to wear my retainers 12 hours a day. Like haywire, I hate my Essix too. They are a pain to get in and out of my mouth

[evilnel]

Wow, my ortho sent me straight to nighttime wear only, not even 12 hours, just "sleeping hours" which is about 7-9 hours a night for me. I notice slight shifting throughout the day (mostly my central incisors recess back so I can feel my lower teeth touching my upper bonded retainer) but they go right back at night after about 10 minutes of wear.

[Margie]

I have permanent retainers on the top and bottom, but I have an Essix for the top as well. I was told to wear the essix 24/7 for 6 months and then at night. I always wear it at night and sometimes during the day.