Who has the bonded (permanent) retainer on upper teeth?

[Rachelxxoo]

I have one on my bottom teeth which isn't bad and I don't notice it unless I'm thinking about it. When I first got it on, it took about a week to get used to it but then I was fine. I have to get one on my upper teeth now to keep my lateral teeth (next to the front two teeth) from moving. But I'm just extremely worried about having it on the upper teeth. I'm worried it will be hard to put on since you have to lean back really far in the chair and stay in that position...I'm worried I'll start gagging. I'm also worried I'll freak out about it and it will bother me. Is it hard to get used to? Your tongue doesn't touch that area naturally so I assume the bonded on the bottom teeth would be worse and take longer to get used to than the top. I'm also worried it might come off a lot.

So who has a bonded retainer on the upper teeth? Do you like it? What do you do for flossing? I've never been able to use those floss threaders and am worried I could accidentally dislodge the retainer by doing that. What I do for my bottom teeth is I floss right to where the bonded is and then stop. I don't go underneath it. But I can see it to do that. I can't see it on the top. Would you say it's hard to put on? Hard to get used to? For those of you who have the bonded on the bottom teeth too, which bothers you more/takes longer to get used to?

Also my orthodontist told me that I have to wear it forever in order to keep my lateral teeth from moving...but since most tooth movement takes place within the first year, could I try taking it off after like 2 years and still wearing my hawley retainer? (I'll be wearing this the entire time too) He said this wouldn't work and they would still move at that point but I just hate the idea of having it there forever. Does that bother anyone else?

Sorry for all the questions lol I'm just nervous.

[jem]

I have had a bonded retainer on my top teeth for 16 months. It is fine and I am quite happy to have it indefinitely. I think the risk of relapse is also with my lateral incisors, particularly the left one which had relapsed since I had a brace as a teenager.

If your ortho believes that a bonded retainer is a good idea, it may well be because they think you have some risk of relapse even long term. I think the experience of a lot of people on this board is that relapse can happen much later than a year after being debraced.

To fit the bonded retainer, my ortho actually kept me more upright than at my usual appointments and I never felt there was any risk of gagging. It only took a few minutes to fit and this was done before my brace was removed.

I use superfloss ( floss with a stiff end of about 1 1/2 inches) and find that I can get that between my teeth and under the bonded retainer quite easily.

The bonded retainer was easy to get used to and has never affected my speech. I eat everything as normal with the bonded retainer. I particularly missed eating whole apples when I had my brace and my ortho is happy to let me bite into whole apples with the bonded retainer.

I also wear a hawley at night. That affected my speech a little at first but I soon got used to it. I have been glad that having the bonded retainer has meant that I have never had to wear the hawley during the day.

All the best

Jem

[ejverx]

I got mine last week and I've been completely fine with it! I occasionally bite on it but it doesn't bother me too much. In regards to flossing, I just floss until I reach the retainer and then stop. I can't feel it when my mouth is closed as my tongue doesn't reach it. It hasn't affected speech or anything like that and eating is completely fine. I needed mine for the exact same reason as you and getting it was one of the best things ever! I originally had essix retainers but if I had them out for longer than an hour then that tooth would completely move and I could barely get the essix back in. There's no problem now I have a bonded retainer. The only thing I am worried about is not being able to tell if it comes loose, and I keep being paranoid that it is moving, but I'm sure that's just me being overly paranoid. I don't have a bottom bonded so I can't compare there, but my upper is fine