Metal Mouth Message Board

Your teeth look fantastic!!

And, FYI... another thing no one ever mentions is how hard it is to remove the Essix retainer when you first get it. I thought "oh I'll just pop it in, pop it out." I didn't think there would be an actual struggle the first day or two

Congratulations! Your teeth look great! I'm so happy for you.

Thanks a lot everyone for your comments, it makes this feel so much more worth it!!!

So I went and picked up my clear essix retainer today, and it was a super tight fit to the point of not fitting...the assistant freaked a bit and left immediately to grab the ortho and he came to have a look, and he took my retainer off and a piece of plastic fell out of my mouth haha...so after that plastic came out he tried again and the retainer fit way better...apparently they didn't inspect the retainer before putting it in...turns out the plastic was just debris from the lab and not my bonded retainer.

Anyways it still feels tight, my upper left and front teeth shifted a lot in the 36 hours that I didn't have my retainer and now I can feel them moving back to where they were yesterday. haha more pain. Woop.

The essix is definitely comfortable, speech wise I have a lisp though so I'm going to have to practice talking. It's not to bad to take out actually. The bonded retainer don't have any effect on my speech.

I will be wearing this for 8 months for 24/7 and then he said I'd be switching to nighttime wear after that. So here's to November 2015 lol.

Will be going back on May 13 for a retainer check.

Thanks again for your comments again, archwired is definitely the best thing around as far as braces go. Couldn't have done it without the support of you all.

Congratulations! Your smile look great and your teeth too! Scary that the teeth do shift that quickly, but great that the Essix seem to fix that.

orchid wrote:Congratulations! Your smile look great and your teeth too! Scary that the teeth do shift that quickly, but great that the Essix seem to fix that.

Thanks so much!
Yeah they shift insanely fast...wear your retainers people!!!!

TrustGodAuburn wrote:Your teeth look fantastic!!!

I'm so jealous!

What did you eat after the grape???

Thanks!

I devoured some chicken and pasta in world record time. Got to remember to eat slower hahah I'm getting hiccups alot

Did you know from the beginning what type of retainer you were going to have?

I have never asked about the type and I don't see it in my treatment plan (except that it says bonded retainer on lower arch, which I expected given all the movement I am going through down there).

I am not even close to debracing and I'm already starting to have retainer anxiety. LOL.

TrustGodAuburn wrote:Did you know from the beginning what type of retainer you were going to have?

I have never asked about the type and I don't see it in my treatment plan (except that it says bonded retainer on lower arch, which I expected given all the movement I am going through down there).

I am not even close to debracing and I'm already starting to have retainer anxiety. LOL.

Yeah he knew at the consult due to the nature of the problem and correction that I'd need am essix to hold the teeth together. Pretty sure it depends on what type of correction you needed that determines your retainer type. I saw a lady in the chair next me with a hawley so I know it can't be a one size fits all solution.

haha yeah just relax it's really not a huge deal, you'll get what's best for you. Seriously I stressed to much about the whole process unnecessarily and it's really not worth the trouble at all hahaha.

mapleleafman888 wrote:I'M BRACES FREE!! SO HAPPY!!

Wow, what a result! I'm so jealous!

mapleleafman888 wrote:I'M BRACES FREE!! SO HAPPY!!

Holy moly they look amazing! you must be over the moon!

Congrats!

Thanks so much for you awesome comments everyone!

So I'm about 3 weeks post braces and so far it's been an amazing thing to experience being brace free with straight teeth and a decently functioning bite!

My essix retainer took a couple weeks to get used to, but I barely notice when I have it in now. I've been getting a lot of compliments from people I know about my teeth... and lots of stares at my teeth from strangers and people when I smile so I'll take it as a good thing!!!

My lower fronts have hurt since getting the braces off, and I can feel they are definitely shifting even with the bonded retainer on. Not sure what is up or if this happens normally when braces come off.

Later friends.

I'm really concerned about my bottom teeth shifting once the braces come off. My bottom teeth relapsed bad after I had braces The first time. I'm getting a bonded retainer, too, and I told the assistant to tell the orthodontist that I would like an Essix retainer as well.

How are your teeth doing now with the retainer?

I'm going for an adjustment today where they are supposed to take my wires out and do my panoramic x-ray to see how close I am to being done.

I am so looking forward to not having them. I was thinking this weekend how annoying it is to have a constant raw spot on the inside of my cheeks. LOL! It doesn't help that I constantly tend to bite my inner cheek.

I will update my story tomorrow after I have seen the ortho!

Still so happy for you and jealous at the same time

The uppers are pretty good...I can definitely tell that they are more solid now in my jaw...the lowers are pretty good as well, still a bit of pain every now and again in the lower fronts though but it's manageable. I'm 7 weeks post braces now, and have my 8 week check up may 7th.

Haha thanks! Your time is coming TGA!

Hey archwired friends! Just thought I'd chime in, it has almost been 3 months post braces now.

So far retainer life is way better than braces life, even with the bonded u/l retainers it's still way easier to eat! My upper essix is holding everything in place quite well and my lower teeth have been hurting on and off since getting the braces off. I've ordered a lower essix retainer now as my lower fronts seem to be shifting a bit and I can feel them tipping forwards... I guess that's something that the bonded retainers can't do is stop them from going forwards.

I'm putting together a before and after teeth photo collage to post here...can't believe how much things have changed still.

Good luck to you all with your treatment.