opera^gal's story

[opera^gal]

and now, the nor'easter storm with snow and freezing temps...power is flickering on and off...it's like a bad sequel to a horror flick

[iBorg]

I feel for you.

But



I don't envy you.

[opera^gal]

Hey iBorg...thawed out yet?

Things are slowly returning to normal here. Gas rationing appears to be over. Clean-up continues. But my retainers are still oh so tight at night!!! The lower inner left side, was really digging itself into the back of my gumline for awhile, and now that has past. Teeth are simply strange!

[iBorg]

I can't believe the weather you're having. We haven't had it bad although the mountains are open for skiing or will be soon. Today the high was almost 60 degrees. We had two weeks of weather related issues this summer. I hope that the weather gods smile on you soon.

Mike

[opera^gal]

hey iBorg:
Weather has been decidedly better of late, which is a nice change..but I'm sure it won't last too long, or it wouldn't be the north east in late autumn/early winter.

Teeth have been relatively normal for the past bit of time, so that's a nice change as well.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday and suffered no shopping charley-horses fighting crowds at odd hours of the night.

[opera^gal]

December already??? Time is flying too quickly!

Retainers are ok if worn every night...otherwise they are really tight..as in "maybe I could go without" tight..so I plod on nighty and will check with the ortho in Jan about frequency.

[opera^gal]

Ugh..fighting a virus..makes feeling 'holiday-ee' a bit of a stretch..ugh!

[Jethro]

Hey o^g, hope you are feeling better. Just wanted to comment that I'm experiencing the same thing regarding my retainers. If I wear them every night everything is fine. If I miss a night, or go totally rogue and miss 2 nights, holy #!@! are those things tight when I put them in! Additionally, my teeth will be sore the next day. I knew I had a high propensity for relapse, but this is ridiculous (I have top and bottom permanent retainers as well).

I have a follow-up visit with my ortho in a few months so I'll discuss it then. Happy Holidays!

[opera^gal]

A retainer adjustment this morning...without adjusting the retainers...ummm...whhhaa?? Doc did the whole 'bite down while I spread your lips open to check your bite and feel around' thing', and said everything continues to look perfect...then popped in the retainers and said those were perfect as well, no need for adjusting them. Alrighty! I discussed the extreme tightness putting them in *IF* I go a night without wearing them, and she looked puzzled. Said she'd like me to continue to try to cut back on the wear time, if possible. I again pointed out the near impossibility of insertion of those wily bits of wire and plastic when left out for a night, to which she replied to 'try'. I was close to quoting Yoda "do or do not: there is no try", but I refrained. Will give it another go, perhaps lessening the hours worn nightly..easy enough to do with the strange sleeping pattern I am in of late...couple hours asleep, an hour awake, couple hours asleep...and so on . Back in 4 months for another 'adjustment' .

[iBorg]

OPG:

I find it amazing your ortho wants you to cut down on retainer wear. My ortho is adamant that it is an everyday thing for the rest of my life.

Mike

[opera^gal]

iBorg: I totally agree with you. I was under the impression, especially with adults, that retainers where a nightly ordeal. I've certainly read numerous entries where patients were backed off to a few nights a week, to maintain all their hard work. Perhaps that is my ortho's ultimate plan. I'm not buying it, not for a single second! I can't even imagine trying to gently place these devices back in after a couple nights without them...after a single night, it is a definite struggle. Shame all the time we spend in braces, that the 'tooth memory' remains somewhat from our pre-brace mouth. Not much to be done about it, but 'wear when needed', as I like to put it.

[opera^gal]

Finally...it is snowing! Not a bunch but enough to turn everything white and quiet.

[opera^gal]

Groundhog Day has come and gone..and I could swear that big ol' rodent was wearing a retainer on his buck teeth

[TMJJill]

Groundhog Day has come and gone..and I could swear that big ol' rodent was wearing a retainer on his buck teeth

Love it.

[opera^gal]

I'm finding the wire clip portions on both retainers to be digging into my tongue at night. It almost feels like they are set into the grooves between those teeth enough, even though I don't feel them when I bite down. If it continues, will give the ortho a call.