Metal Mouth Message Board

I've had my braces off for about 11 months, and I got an upper hawley retainer when that happened. I wore it most of the day for like 2 weeks and then just started wearing it at night only. I was pretty good with that, I mean there were occasional nights if I didn't sleep at home or something where I wouldn't wear it but I pretty much wore it every night. Never noticed any shifting or anything. Anyway my retainer has been missing for like a week and I'm sure it would be smart to find it or get another one but I just wanna know if anything serious can happen to my teeth if I never wear it again. Like I'm sure some minor shifting will happen, whatever. But I wanna know if gaps will open up like crazy or what.

It's definitely hard to say what will happen. I wore my retainer for years and finally stopped wearing it all together. I started to relapse, looked into treatment 10 years ago and totally got two different opinions and decided that it wasn't worth it. Then 18 months ago started having issues and I've been braced for almost 16 months and due to get them removed in 2 weeks.

I would totally call your ortho and have them make you a new retainer before things get worse. I'm sure that there will be a fee, but you'll guarantee that your teeth will stay straight versus going through treatment again.

Good luck!

B