Anyone have a permanent upper retainer? Opinions?

[bmueller]

I have a feeling I'm going to be really bad at wearing my retainers. I used to have a lower permanent retainer which I liked ALOT! I was wondering what people's experiences have been with the upper permanent retainer.

[jem]

Hi Bmueller,

Angel 269 has one and Kellyb will be getting one at the end of this month. I should be getting one on 22 July if my debracing goes ahead as planned.

I can't think of anyone else on here who has one and it seems as though people who have their braces off tend not to visit this site any more or not very often. I think an upper permanent is often fitted for people who had a diastema between their upper centrals, so if you look for older posts on that subject, you may find someone to ask via a PM. I will be very interested to see any replies you get.

When are you due to be debraced ( apologies if I have missed a date you have already stated elsewhere)?

Good luck with the debracing. From what I recall from reading your other threads, you have been through quite a lot so I think you deserve a big celebration.

Jem

[bmueller]

Thanks for the leads! I definitely did not have a diastema so maybe it's not even for me.

My teeth are done but every time I stop wearing elastics, they move back to where they were before elastics so it may be many months before I actually get them off.

I'm worried that if the teeth want to move so much, even with plastic removable retainers, the teeth will want to move. Especially if i'm not super good at wearing the retainers.

[Jethro]

I have had upper and lower bonded retainers since getting debraced about 2 years ago. I also have an upper Hawley and a lower Essix that I wear every other night. I have had no issues with the bonded retainers except that I still must use threader floss to clean between the teeth with bonded retainers. I did not have a diastema, but for whatever reason, I have a high propensity for relapse and must be vigilant about wearing the removable retainers as the bonded retainers alone won't maintain proper alignment...a bit of a pain but relapse would be far worse (this was my 2nd round in braces). Of course, everyone is different and the bonded retainers alone may work for some.

I hope this helps. If you have further questions just let me know.

All the best!

Jethro

[bmueller]

Jethro,
Thanks for the input!

So my ortho is very worried about relapse and is keeping me indefinitely in braces even though my teeth have been done for almost 2 months. If she's THAT worried, I'm kinda worried that the removable retainers won't keep my teeth in place when she does finally let me go. Maybe permanent retainers will give us both a better peace of mind.

This is my second round of braces and I will not go through this again. I would do just about anything to ensure that!

[Snowglobe32]

I want a retainer of every kind possible! I paid a lot of money and spent too much time in braces to have my teeth shift!

I don't think my ortho likes permanent retainers though...but I will get one somewhere else!

[bmueller]

Turns out I will be getting permanent and removable essix retainers. They will put the permanent ones on and then take impressions so the removable ones fit on top.

After the hell I've been through, they don't want my teeth going anywhere!

[Matilda]

I want a retainer of every kind possible!

Me as well.

[jem]

I will actually be getting every possible type of retainer. My ortho decided that I needed a bonded retainer plus removable essix clear retainer to wear at night ( ie 12 hours). I felt that I needed a spare removable retainer in case I lost or damaged the essix. I requested a hawley on the basis that it would be more durable than a second essix and would hopefully last me indefinitely for night time wear after the essix is worn out.

I had an upper bonded retainer placed on my front 6 teeth before my brace was removed on Monday morning. So far I am very happy with it; it is comfortable and does not affect my speech at all.

After the brace was removed and glue polished off, I had one lower and three upper impressions taken. It was one impression per arch for record purposes and one impression for each retainer. I had the essix fitted yesterday afternoon and again am quite happy with it. It does affect my speech a bit, but I think I will get over that in the next few days and I don't have to wear it for work anyway.

I will be getting the hawley in two weeks time and after that I don't need to see my ortho for 6 months unless I have any problems. In some ways, I will miss the regular appointments as my ortho and her team are all so lovely.

After my essix was fitted yesterday, they gave me a box of retainer brite, some instructions re my retainer wear and what they said was a large bottle of mouthwash but turned out to be vintage champagne! I took flowers for my ortho and 6 bottles of wine for her to share with her team ( not on the premises hopefully). Not easy to decide what to get- for my own office, a big box of chocolates on reception goes down well, but I didn't think that would do for an ortho office.

Incidentally, on the box of retainer brite they had put a sticker stating that they recommend using retainer brite only once per week, rather than every day as ecommended by the manufacturer.

Jem

[bmueller]

Jem,
Thanks for sharing your retainer experience. That is a crazy amount of retainers. I'm not sure I would have survived all those upper impressions either. I gagged like crazy on mine yesterday. As soon as they put it in, a pile of the material dumped on my tongue.

I ended up getting permanent retainers because my ortho is so concerned about my teeth moving and then removable essix ones that fit over the top of the permanent ones. I had a lower fixed before so it doesn't really bother me much. After having so much stuff in my mouth, it was like no adjustment to get used to the permanent ones, though my tongue is very curious and has been going crazy for the last day.

[BraceFaceCH]

I've been wondering this too, it's good to know upper permanents are an option.

[hj55]

Hi,

I have both upper and lower fixed retainers and also use Essix retainers at night. The fixed retainers are no problem. I didn't have a diastema it was just something the ortho offered but it was up to me to decide whether I wanted the fixed retainers. I decided I would have fixed retainers because I was in my 50's and having paid for braces wanted to be sure my teeth would stay put! I had to pay extra to have the fixed retainers.

Impressions were taken before I had my braces removed, then on the day of removal before he took the braces off the ortho glued my fixed retainers in place. He then took another set of impressions for the Essix retainers which I collected the following day.

I had to get a replacement for my lower Essix retainer recently, the replacement was made from the moulds taken in 2010 when I was debraced and I was delighted to find it fitted perfectly! As it should do!

Helen

[JayC]

I initially got the essix for both top and bottom. After a short while, I requested to have the bonded wire for my lowers. The issue I had with that was that the cement kept coming loose, so you have to be aware of that. I eventually went back to removable essix, and decided to order Viveras (made by invisalign) which are a lot more durable than the essix. You get 3 sets, and it was approx 300 bucks, if I remember correctly. The upside to the Viveras as well is that Invisalign keeps your mold in their database so it makes reordering a cinch!

TBH, I don't see what the issue with wearing removable retainers. You are required to wear it 24/7 for the first month or so, then every night thereafter. Wearing it 24/7 may be a bit hard depending what kind of work you do, but there is no excuse not to be wearing them every night. I have wore mine nightly since I have been debraced (better part of 4 years now).

[peppy]

My ortho is only giving me permanent retainers. I wanted Essix ones for the night too, but he told me that it won't make any difference. In fact, the repeated effort of taking them out and putting them back in might dislodge the bonded retainer.

I'm so confused. I'm desperate for my teeth to not relapse. Do I just trust what he's telling me and stick with the bonded retainer? Are they reliable?

Arrrrrgh!

[plugnickel69]

My ortho will be doing both permanent and Essix type on both top and bottom. My 2nd premolars (1st premolars pulled during first go round) had to be substantially uprighted and untwisted. I don't think they usually include the premolars in the permanent retainer arrangement, so the Essix would be needed to keep the premolars in place.

Everyone's situation is different, and different orthos use different protocols. That said, I want to do everything I can to not undo all this hard work.