Metal Mouth Message Board

I admit, I go through times where I hadn't worn my retainers and I started to wear them again and got a bit of jaw pain on both left/right side (bottom teeth) .. it's a bit throbbing, that went up to an earache and a headache. I was curious if retainers can cause this after not wearing them for some time? I had to take advil for a couple of days, I didn't wear them during this time. Is this pretty normal? Should I just wear them through the pain?

Thanks.

You are experiencing pain because the teeth have moved. Your teeth and jaw are probably out of alignment with the retainer.

I can see you have been debraced for a couple of years... I would increase your wear time to see if that helps. Retainers are meant to be worn forever so you can deal with the pain now or else you might find yourself in a worse situation.

Good luck!

Yea, I think it's due to that and grinding...and a bit of holiday stress. Pain is gone, so I'll wear them again.