Every night for the rest of my life?

[allisun]

Hi all! It's been a while since I've been here--I got debraced about 18 months ago, and then promptly moved out of the state where my ortho was located. He gave me a retainer plan for the next year, which I followed to the letter (I believe it was 24/7 wear for the first 6 months, 12-hour wear for 6 months, and 8-hour wear after that).

Since it's been 18 months, I called up and asked how often I should be wearing my retainers, hoping they'd tell me I could drop down to 5 or 6 nights a week. Nope. I was told I would have to wear them every night for the rest of my life. Now, this isn't a HUGE deal and if it's necessary to preserve the results I have, then I will do it. But, really? I don't know anyone who had braces as a teen who wears a retainer even once a week. Granted, a lot of their teeth have shifted. But it seems that wearing them every night is a little extreme. Besides the pain in the butt that they are in general (cleaning, etc) I find that when I have them in, my lips don't close naturally, causing me to breathe weird and drool in my sleep. Sexay. (I have the Invisalign-looking ones.)

Now, I like my ortho well enough and I'm happy with my results, but I believe he treats his adult and kid patients basically the same. I was given a "no" foods list (which it seems many adult patients aren't given) and he read me the riot act about gum like you would do with a kid. At times, I was like, give me a break--I'm an adult and I'm paying for this, I'm not interested in sabotaging my own treatment so of course I'm going to do what you say, you know? You don't have to use scare tactics.

So now I'm wondering if he's exaggerating the need for every-night wear because that's what he'd do with a disobedient kid/teenager. Speaking to his receptionist, it seems this is his standard treatment plan, it's not like he thinks my teeth are extremely prone to relapsing.

Any thoughts??

[RedDress]

So, how old are you?

[macgirl4ever]

Good job sticking to your plan- I hope I'm just as diligent as you are! I get where you're coming from in feeling embarrassed and belittled but some of what you're saying seems standard. No matter whose mouth the hardwear is installed in, there are foods to avoid. Also, as one of those ex-teen patients on round two of ortho, I wish I had never stopped wearing my retainers but that was what most orthos said in the 90s at least- wear it a year and that's it. I remember reading a post, perhaps from one of the orthos on here, that stated that you should wear your retainer for however long you want your teeth to remain straight. It's kind of stuck with me. I've even thought of taping it to all my retainer cases. :)

[RedDress]

I heard that the older the person - the more his teeth tend to relaps

[allisun]

Maybe I should look into getting Hawleys then--maybe they would improve my mouth closing situation? It's awkward.

My dentist said something similar to the "only wear the retainer as long as you want your teeth to be straight" line... "you don't have to floss all your teeth... only the ones you want to keep!" Har har.

I got braced when I was 25, am now 28 if that makes any difference.

There have been occasional nights where I've skipped the retainers (like once a month) and they didn't feel any tighter than normal when I put them on again...

[allisun]

Oh yeah, to clarify, the nights that I skipped were before I talked to the doc and confirmed that he really meant FOREVER

[PrincessPeach]

I have the exact same, essix retainers every night for the rest of my life.

I tend to wear mine every night with the exception of the odd night when i have company to stay, it does seem abit extreme but i think its worth it

When i dont wear mine, when i put them in next it is rather tight

The only thing that keeps me motivated to keep wearing mine is the fact that Cheryl Cole has to wear them too, and she's my idol (if you dont know her, over in the UK she's the most popular woman who's extremely beautiful and overall amazing)

[orangeracer]

At my consult, the process was described to me as "orthodontics is lifetime," which makes sense considering that one is usually pushing teeth into places they never intended to go, (according to your physical/genetic profile). So, once you take the step to make those changes, the only practical way to keep them is by retainers, for a lifetime.

[TumbleDryLow]

I was told to wear my retainer 24/7 for the first year, then every night for the rest of my life. If it's any consolation, I was not only told this by the orthodontist who did my treatment, but the other 3 orthos I did consults with as well. I think they all wanted to pound into my head that treatment does not end the day braces are removed. A successful long term result requires constant retention.

I think the orthodontic wisdom of today says that every night wear is the only sure-fired way to prevent relapse. The information given to ortho patents 20 years ago was different. Perhaps the high incidence of relapse was not as well known then.

I think you may want to try a Hawley. An Essex does not let you bite down fully, where a Hawley will, thus you may be able to close your mouth more naturally and it may be more comfortable for you.

[RedDress]

Your ortho definitely wants to be on the safe side.
But, you are rather young. So, see how it goes. Wear them for several years every night then see what happens if you stop wearing them every nigh. If the retainer starts getting tight after you just do not wear it one night - that would mean your teeth are shipting - then go back to every night.
If it is not may be you can wear it less frequently.

[felicia]

I think you may want to try a Hawley. An Essex does not let you bite down fully, where a Hawley will, thus you may be able to close your mouth more naturally and it may be more comfortable for you.

I don't understand...I have upper and lower Hawley, but I cannot bite down fully, actually none of my teeth touch when I have my retainers in. Should I be able to??????

[TumbleDryLow]

I don't understand...I have upper and lower Hawley, but I cannot bite down fully, actually none of my teeth touch when I have my retainers in. Should I be able to??????

I don't have a Hawley currently so cannot speak from actual experience, but at my first retainer check I complained to my ortho that I did not like my bite--that it did not feel comfortable. My ortho said to give it 4 more months and if I am still not happy with my bite, she will switch me to a Hawley b/c, in a Hawley, the back teeth are not covered by the retainer. Now I assumed this meant that, since the retainer does not cover my back teeth, that my back teeth could touch each other. My Essex covers all my teeth--none touch when it is in. But, given what you just said, I am apparently assuming incorrectly, and in that case, I really don't know how a Hawley will help me at all. (sigh)

[hj55]

I was told I need to wear my retainers every night from 8pm for the first year, then 3 nights from then on.

[WebDevGirl]

Right there in my contract with my ortho is said something about longlife retention. Only because i read it (which i'm sure lots don't) did i ever 'hear' that from my ortho.

But i was already aware that getting braces as an adults means retainer every night for the rest of your life. Lots of stories on here about people who did not and now their teeth of crooked again.

[Kristiana]

I don't know anyone who had braces as a teen who wears a retainer even once a week.
?

Now you do I had braces only once when I was 14, got them off when I was 15. I am 26 now and still wear my retainer every single night. My teeth are very prone to relapse and have shifted a little even despite my wearing them every night (and I have never missed a night, I wanted braces badly and hated how my teeth looked before).

Today I even got a brand new retainer, to fix the slight shifting of one of my bottom canines. My orthodontist says my teeth are possessed hahaha

Since you first got your braces as an adult, I'd be on the safe side and wear the retainers every night. The only other patient my orthodontist has had, whose teeth are possessed like mine, is another female who got braces first as an adult.