Hawley to extrude front central incisors

[Lorianne]

Haven't been on here since my braces came off about a year ago! Have been loving my smile and never regretted getting braces, even though they took over a year longer than planned (total 3 yrs). My front centrals that were originally retroverted would just love to go back into place though and I'm vigilant about wearing my essix retainers to keep that from happening. However, my central incisors have gotten about a mm or 2 shorter since first getting braces removed. This was due to the fact that my orthodontist put tiny little dimples in my retainer to keep my front centrals pushed forward and by doing so, also caused them to go slightly upward. So, I am now getting a Hawley made because Ortho said that he'd be able to add some Invisalign buttons (I think that is what he said) to help move them down a little so they are slightly longer than laterals, instead of slightly, or the same length, as laterals. My question is, has anyone else had a similar problem or experience and used the Hawley to correct? I'm really hoping this can work and is a really easy fix to bring my centrals down a little bit and make them appear slightly longer.

[djspeece]

He may be talking about the Vivera retainer, which is an Invisalign-type of product which i assume could accommodate the buttons you mention. I use a Vivera retainer and love it. It is much more durable than an Essix. Sounds like your ortho knows what he is doing! Best of luck to you.

[Lorianne]

hey dj, thanks! I have since gotten the new Hawley and gotta tell you, I love it. I much prefer it over the Essix. What my ortho did was put little tooth colored build ups on the front of my teeth and then the wire on the Hawley goes above those build ups and pushes down slightly. This has had the desired effect of letting my teeth come back down a little bit so they are not too short anymore. They look much better to me already. I'll probably have these buttons on for a few more weeks then go and get them sanded off. However, I will continue to use the Hawley on top because I think it's more comfortable to wear. I still have to use an Essix on the bottoms though. Glad you're loving your Vivera retainer. Sounds much better than an Essix. I chewed thru 2 sets of Essix already.