question about everyone's retainer wear
Moderator: bbsadmin
I want to point out that I has braces as a youth as well. When they came off I had retainers and wore them as prescribed and eventually stopped. I had a skeletal issue as a youth that was not recognized. My teeth were corrected around this issue in the early 80s and therefore my results were not stable. This time, the skeletal problems were easily diagnosed (likely due to medical advances that were not as widely available in the early 80s). I had double jaw surgery to correct my skeletal issues and braces the second go around. This is largely why my bite is suspected to be pretty stable. Many computer models are used to arrive at the ideal jaw placement when one undergoes jaw surgery. So to understand my retainer wear one really needs to take into consideration that I had pretty extensive jaw surgery.
I agree early correction or surgery will have a big impact on the need for retention. I didn't even know I had a jaw problem until my latest ortho pointed it out to me. In my case, I'm not sure retainers would have stopped the recurrence. My last treatment involved extrusion of my rear teeth and over time everything from chewing to clenching or grinding simply pushed them back into their sockets. I think this is something that is treated at a very early age when the jaw is still growing.
Adult teeth continue to move and crowd. My wife, who never had braces, is experiencing problems with crowding and difficulty flossing.
I think the most important thing is to come up with a followup program to catch problems - with or without retainers - and stop the problem early if a relapse starts. My ortho and dentist know each other and are exchanging info on my case, so I should have this covered. I also plan to take digital pictures of the final results this time so I'll have something to compare.
Dentistry has rapidly improved and the boomers are probably the first generation to keep their teeth beyond age 40. If I had been one generation older with my dental problems, I probably would be wearing dentures instead of braces. Still, I will be a lot less grumpy when I can once again drink coffee at my desk without worrying about how long I have my Invisalign trays out!!
Adult teeth continue to move and crowd. My wife, who never had braces, is experiencing problems with crowding and difficulty flossing.
I think the most important thing is to come up with a followup program to catch problems - with or without retainers - and stop the problem early if a relapse starts. My ortho and dentist know each other and are exchanging info on my case, so I should have this covered. I also plan to take digital pictures of the final results this time so I'll have something to compare.
Dentistry has rapidly improved and the boomers are probably the first generation to keep their teeth beyond age 40. If I had been one generation older with my dental problems, I probably would be wearing dentures instead of braces. Still, I will be a lot less grumpy when I can once again drink coffee at my desk without worrying about how long I have my Invisalign trays out!!