[cutebublebear]

I got my retainers yesterday, and he gave me a invisalign type looking retainer for the top, and wire one for the bottom. i don't know because all my friends have wire one for top and bottom, and i don't like the feeling of the plastic one because its like moulded around all my teeth at the top. Also he told me to wear at all times except eating.. well its gonna be weird taking it off and putting it back on with strangers around you. :S
So which one did you get and which one is better? or does it depend on your teeth on which one you get? Oh and is it true u have to wear it forever otherwise your teeth shift?? my dentist said only for a few years but i'm afraid that after it will shift when u get older.

[EHNerJI]

i got the wire one on the bottom and plastic thing on the top. told me to wear it always except eating/playing sports... i only wore it at night for a few months. then i stopped wearing it... nothing changed ROFL ^^ the end. i hate the retainer makes me talk funny

[megan92]

my orthodontist just said i was getting the clear invisalign mold of your teeth kind. haha.
i did have to wear it all the time for a while but it was summer and i was at home so i didnt care.
i only wear them to sleep now.
i think my teeth shift pretty quick or something cause if i go a few days without wearing it, it's really tight on my teeth and hurts. =(

[princextammy]

i got wires for top and bottom
and you SHOULD wear it all the time[except eating and brushing your teeth]
because if you take it off
even though its not extremely noticeable at first
it WILL shift
and then when you put your retainers back on

its tight.
and it hurts

[atalamarche10]

i have the clear ones and i wear it once in a while to keep them straight
cuz they do shift lol.
it's so nasty cuz i dont know..i bite and u can see holes in the retainer

[kimchee1]

i got retainers after braces
wore it all the time to make sure my teeth stay in place and don't move cept now i'm just lazy which i totally regret. it's not worth being lazy over.
anywhooos during meals and stuf i'd take em out even if it's in public, wrap it in a napkin or u can take it out in the bathroom if you're embarassed.
just make sure you don't forget it after eating. lol i lost mine already, had to get a second pair.
if you lose your retainers, to get another pair it's 300 bucks, well depends where you go but mine is 300.
yu shoulda asked why he gave you plastic on top and wire on bottom
I also got the ones that look like invisalign but its for both top and bottom
&& my dentist said i have to wear it forever. yes yes, i should cus my teeth already shifted. once you stop wearing them for a while then go back to wearing them they'll hurt a bit since your teeth shifted/not in place like it was before.

[fihe]

I got my retainers yesterday, and he gave me a invisalign type looking retainer for the top, and wire one for the bottom. i don't know because all my friends have wire one for top and bottom, and i don't like the feeling of the plastic one because its like moulded around all my teeth at the top. Also he told me to wear at all times except eating.. well its gonna be weird taking it off and putting it back on with strangers around you. :S
So which one did you get and which one is better? or does it depend on your teeth on which one you get? Oh and is it true u have to wear it forever otherwise your teeth shift?? my dentist said only for a few years but i'm afraid that after it will shift when u get older.

the Invisalign-like retainer is called the Essix retainer. your wire one is probably the Hawley. the Hawley retainers for top and bottom are the most common type.

I used to have the Hawley for both top and bottom but then my bottom teeth started to move. so my orthodontist gave me a Bradley retainer for the bottom. it is also called a spring aligner. it looks like this:



I have worn my retainers since I was 13, when I got my braces off. I'm 18 now and I dunno how long I will need to wear them -____________- I used to have to wear them 24/7 except for eating and cleaning, but now I wear them at night only.

once I forgot to take my retainer with me when I went home from college for four days and when I put the retainer back on, it did not fit in my mouth very well :\ so your mouth and teeth will move if you do not wear it.

[melanie.]

Haha. He told me to wear my retainer all the time, I only wore it at night. It was just tighter to put on at night and got loose in the morning.
And it's been maybe.. 6 years now and I can go a few days without the retainer and having it feeling tight at all when I put it back on.
But.. just wear it all the time at the beginning.

[heartdrops]

My dentist never told me when to wear it or anything T__T so I just wore it at nights.
Now.. I'm so lazy in wearing in it. I usually skipp a few days and then when I put it back on, it's really tight and my teeth hurts the next morning.

[purexorange]

it is weird at first, but youll get used to it! i don't like the hawley retainer because i talk funny with it and it's so uncomfortable ! I wear it on my upper teeth. I have this wire glued to the back of my bottom teeth and a clear retainer, whcih is perfectly fine to me

[apolline]

how long approx do u need to wear a retainer after braces??

[xflyhigher]

I got retainers which has the molded plastic thing on top and bottom.
It was really inconvenient at first but I got used to it.
I've been wearing it like all the time (except for eating and stuff) for six months
but I'm gonna wear it longer (not gonna take any chances to get crooked teeth again as an adult!)

[esm90]

how long approx do u need to wear a retainer after braces??

for me during the first few months i wore them as often as i could (took them out when i eat), but nowadays i just wear them at night. if it doesn't feel tight when you put them on after you've previously taken them off, then i guess it's ok cuz it means your teeth didn't start moving back to chaos (yes, my teeth were HORRIBLY crooked before) too much.

[simplicity_x]

Yeah, I have the wired ones for both top and bottom.
There was a period of time when I didn't wear my retainers before I went to bed (I only had to wear them at night)
and man...it took me forever to get it into my mouth. I mean, it still fit but it didn't fit as perfectly as it did before.
After that incident, I started to wear them every night. I couldn't risk getting crooked teeth again!
I got my braces off in 7th grade and started wearing my retainers. I'm a junior in high school now and I still wear my retainers.

[broken.wings]

I got the wire on the bottom and the plastic on top too. I only have to wear the plastic one while I'm sleeping though.

[x kisekiboshi]

I have the wire ones
I don't think it's that bad, it just takes time getting used to
I remember it would take me forever to put my top one on
And I used to wear it every day after school
But gradually, I started wear them when I go to bed
I remember I forgot to wear my retainer once before I went to bed
And the next day I put it on, it was tight and wouldn't really fit my mouth
I have a wired one for the bottom too, but its cemented in which sucks

[Kalesty]

I have a clear ones for the top and bottom; they gave me a choice, of either permanent retainer, metal, or clear. The first couple months I had to wear them all the time, which was annoying cause I hated taking them out to eat >.< Now my dentist said I could just wear them at night.

[miwako*]

I used to have the invisalign one for top and bottom but for some reason they kept breaking @@;; so my orthodontist gave me a wire one. Then I stopped wearing them after 5 months OTL but my teeth havn't shifted that much if any.

[serendipityxt]

Like most of the people said, I only wear my retainers at night (I got my braces off 4 years ago) and if I don't skip a lot of days in between .. then my retainers fit alright the night after. But after 3 days or so .. it hurts when I put my retainers back in ..

the question is .. how long do I have to wait until I can permanently stop wearing retainers? =(

[skimchee]

i have the wire one.
i kinda wanted the clear, plastic one, just because you cant see it

when you're removing/putting in your retainers
you could always go to the bathroom if you feel uncomfortable

you wear your retainers constantly for a certain period of time,
then your dentist should tell you to wear them only after school,
later, (6months?estimate) you can wear them only when you sleep