Hawley retainer questions (pics)

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#1 Post by **Faerydust** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:33 pm

I got my braces off just 4 days ago (yay

), but my lower front teeth are tipped forward. My ortho says that the retainer can fix that. He also wants to add a spring on the upper retainer to push my right lateral forward just a bit.

When I mentioned that my lower teeth were tipped forward, he basically said "yes, they are, it's because we didn't extract any teeth on the bottom, but the retainer can upright them." Would anyone know why an ortho would fix that with a retainer rather than leaving the braces on?

I want to be happy that my braces are off, but I can't help but be nit-picky. After all, I spent a good deal of money, I don't want to have to pay another ortho to fix things. I want to trust that my ortho knows what he's doing and believe that the retainers can indeed fix this, but it just seems so odd that he didn't address the tipped teeth with the braces.

It's just so obviously off looking to me.

Plus, my retainers will take about 3-4x to arrive, so my teeth are going to be naked for the next for weeks and I noticed that my lower anteriors are also shifting out of alignment.

What do you all say? Is this normal?

Deband day (midline aligned)

Today (4 days later)

#2 Post by **Faerydust** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:34 pm

*typo - 3-4x is supposed to say 3-4 weeks

#3 Post by **switchblades** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:09 pm

It only took like 5 days for my Hawley's to be made...and he left the braces on until they came in.

I am noticing one of my upper laterals is starting to tip outward a bit though.

#4 Post by **Etherealchick476** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:34 pm

I'm getting some minor tooth shifting corrected with Hawley retainers. I don't know why he wouldn't leave the braces on, other than the fact that he's trying to provide some comfort, since you can actually remove retainers whenever you want. My ortho. asked if I would consider partial braces. Ha. No.

I've never heard of it taking that long to get retainers. It took exactly one week for mine to come in. That's very odd. You may want to ask him about that.

Your teeth look great, by the way!

#5 Post by **Faerydust** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:54 pm

Thanks! I like my new smile! Just hoping that the things that shifted will be corrected when my retainer gets in. I'll bet it's gonna hurt!

I actually did call and ask why it takes so long. I was told that he sends them to a lab on the mainland and it takes that long for them to make it and have it shipped back. I asked if it came in any earlier if they could call me and they said yes, but it's almost always at least 3 weeks.