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My fixed brace came off on Wednesday and I was so pleased with the results. I bought some Crest Whitstrips to get that white smilethat I have dreamed of and they work a treat.
Then....
I got my retainer today. I cannot express how much I hate and despise this thing. I keep gagging and have almost been sick on many occasions in a few hours. The only reason I have not been sick is beacuse I cant eat a thing due to worry. I cant talk which is not the main worry when I almost sick every 10 minutes. I know this probably sounds dramatic but I hate this thing with a passion.
I honestly feel like i wish I had not had the treatment done at all. I cant imagine putting up with this for 6 months its is awful.
im just hoping and praying that I get used to it. I dont mind the speech problem but its that gagging all the time. Will be so embrassing if i keep doing in when Im in work / university
I hate it
What is an expander? I had elastics and i thought they were bad.
I'm sure you will adjust to the retainer. Just like when you got the braces at first, I'm sure you hated them then. I have the clear ones and somehow they have only requested I wear mine at night. I have perminate retainers behind my teeth so maybe that's why.
I am going to have a long talk with my dentist if he tries to give me a hawley on my uppers. I have a major gag reflex and I have heard alot of people on the board complaining about that. It won't take much to set me off. Please if anyone is on this board who had the gag thing going on and got over it in x number of day/weeks, please post. Sarahlp: you may want to post on the naked tooth forum and ask. I would also call the ortho and see what he says. Maybe there is an adjustment he can make? Don't suffer! Please let us know what happens.
I have quite a bad gag reflex but my hawleys never bothered me. Try wearing them, the more anxious you get the more you will gag. Try breathing through your nose, relaxing and wearing it while you sleep. Your mouth will get used to the retainer and the gaging will stop.
Congratulations on getting your braces off!!! I know you are so proud of yourself for going through with the orthodontic treatment. But I'm sorry you're so miserable with the retainer. I had braces several years ago and when I received my retainer, it was difficult talking with it but I adjusted to it within a couple weeks. I was able to remove it while eating. I hope you will adjust to it like I had before.
Believe me, if you went through the ortho treatment, having a retainer will be a breeze.
Chris wrote:I wonder why they can't make those hawleys not go back so far towards the throat?
Yeah that's what I've been wondering also. Makes sense that you wouldn't need much of the roof of your mouth covered.
But then again, I haven't had years of orthodontic training so what would I know!!!
Hi Guys-
well, I had a pretty sleepless night! Kept waking up choking, which was not a nice feeling. I feel that I dont mind the actual retiner so much and the speech thing isn't so bad but I think that the top of the retainer goes too far back. I will mention it to my ortho on Monday anyway.
I think I suffer with this more than some others as I have frequent anxiety and panic attacks and the fact that I gag and choke on the retainer doesn't help. I was almost sick this morning and gasping for breath nearly sent me into a panic. My boyfriend looked scared bless him.
Another thing that worries me is one of my front teeth is twisting even when i wear the retainer. I can move it back but when I put the reatiner on it 'twists' again? Think I will definitely be bringing that up with my ortho too. Im not happy paying £2400 if my teeth move even with the retainer!
Sorry this post wasn;t meant to be an essay!- Thanks for reading!
Sounds like a horrible thing to have to deal with.... always on the verge of puking Hopefully he'll set you up with an Essix instead. Plus, with that one tooth that's moving, they can make adjustments on the retainer itself to fix that. I hope it works out. Definately keep us posted.
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