Introducing myself and looking for forum direction

[MECindylou]

Hi Everyone,

I'm really excited to find this site! I'm not sure if this is the best forum for my first post, but I'll provide a little background information here and ask that more experienced users direct me to the proper forum(s).

I got braces at age 51 four years ago and got them off two years ago, but am about to have them put back on again (at no charge) because I've been unhappy with some change/relapse issues. I'd like to tell my story with more detail and get some feedback on that and the current plan of action, particularly around the use of permanent retainers or a combination of permanent and removable. The other issue I'm interested in discussing is how I can be unhappy with what other people think are very minor issues. I'm torn between thinking, "hey, I paid a lot of money to be happy with my teeth" and "don't expect perfection; teeth will move and you will drive yourself, your family, and your orthodontist crazy unless you get a grip."

Thanks!

[rhomboid]

Can you explain why your teeth relapsed? I don't drive others crazy talking about my braces, not even my Orthodondist, but I do obsess with my own thoughts. I am close to removal and the thought of relapse it is incomprehensible.

[MECindylou]

Don't panic; like I said, I'm being very picky. It's only a few teeth that aren't looking as perfectly aligned as I would like (bottom, which I hear is pretty common when there is a lot of crowding) and just one on top that has rotated a bit (and that was the one that was worst before I started). As far as I can best tell, my removable retainers haven't held these particular teeth as well as I would like. I was advised by someone in my kids' ortho office (not my ortho) that I should ask mine to use permanent retainers when my braces came off, but my ortho isn't a big fan of permanent retainers so persuaded me to get removable retainers. So now the plan is to put the brackets back on (not necessarily all the teeth; he may not do the very back ones) and then put a permanent retainer on even before the brackets come off. That's why I hope to be able to ask some questions about permanent vs. removable. I've seen some posts about perrmanent retainers that allow for regular flossing and also some that refer to people using both permanent and removable at the same time, if I'm understanding them correctly, so I'm interested to find out more about those possibilities before I get the brackets put back on.

Honestly, as I've been reading on these forums, I'm finding out a certain amount of movement is to be expected and I'm wondering if really I'm being too particular. As best I can remember, though, (and I don't know for sure because they didn't take "after" photos (which, in hindsight, I wish I'd asked for), my teeth looked really great when the brackets first came off. And when I wore the plastic retainers for the first week, they REALLY hurt, which makes me think maybe there was a lot of movement going on. The ortho even said that, in hindsight, maybe the braces should have stayed on a bit longer, and perhaps permanent retainers would have been a better choice for me. However, in retainer checks, I would mention how I thought this one tooth was starting to rotate, or how the bottom teeth didn't seem to be staying aligned, and the ortho would try to tweak them with retainer after retainer. I didn't want to say anything, since this was the plan he obviously wanted to follow, but I felt like saying, why don't we just put the brackets back on rather than going through all these retainers which aren't doing much anyway.

I hope that helps you. Everyone is different; my teeth are seemingly stubborn. :-)

[Catia]

Hi, I would like to share my story about retainers.
I was told to wear a removable plastic retainer at night for 7 years plus bonded retainers on my four top and bottom front teeth for the rest of my life.

I was shocked to hear this at first but anyway, I wore the plastic retainer for maybe 2 years. Then I had a one night stand and therefore couldn't wear it one night. After that it no longer fitted so I just threw it away.

My teeth are prone to getting a lot of tartar and my dad has had some problems with paradontitis. It seems like I have gotten my teeth from him. A lot of tartar started growing on my bottom front teeth. No matter how much I brushed - and I also used toothpicks after every meal - tartar would keep coming back and it would just get worse and worse. After maybe 5 years, I got a pocket with pus and my gums started to recede on one tooth. (Imagine the bad breath!) I went to the dentist and asked them to remove the bonded retainers but they wouldn't.

15 years later the wire in the lower jaw came off and I was quite happy. My teeth started shifting right away, however. Both my canines rotated quite a bit. Can you imagine - even after 15 years, they seemed to remember their original position! ;)

My bottom teeth were then completely numb for 6 weeks and the tooth with the pocket will probably always be sore, but that's just one tooth and the other teeth were fine except for some pressure from the canines.

I definitely don't want to scare you but rather give you some advice.
Don't be afraid to ask for plastic retainer AND bonded/lingual retainers. If you notice tartar or problems keeping the inside of the bottom teeth clean (for they are subjected to a lot more dirt for some reason), consider removing the wire. I don't think a pocket or anything like that would appear during the first two years though as it usually takes longer.
I've heard that the first year or so is the most critical because the body needs to reproduce the bone.
The upper jaw is a different story. Tartar doesn't end up here as much and my dentist also said the upper teeth help keeping the bottom teeth in place.