Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi, I've just got a quick query about the 'classic' train track braces.

As an adult who has been dissatisifed with his teeth for many years I've often considered getting braces to correct my teeth. However, I repeatedly hear that after any treatment using braces, as an adult, I would have to wear some kind of 'retainer' brace for the rest of my life to keep my realigned teeth in place.

Is this a blanket approach by orthodontists - or is the lieflong 'retainer' brace just for a few 'bad' cases?

I have to wear them the rest of my life at night. I think they are finding that your teeth constantly move throughout your life, so if you want to keep your teeth straight you have to keep wearing your retainer.

Hi, I've just got a quick query about the 'classic' train track braces.

As an adult who has been dissatisifed with his teeth for many years I've often considered getting braces to correct my teeth. However, I repeatedly hear that after any treatment using braces, as an adult, I would have to wear some kind of 'retainer' brace for the rest of my life to keep my realigned teeth in place.

Is this a blanket approach by orthodontists - or is the lieflong 'retainer' brace just for a few 'bad' cases?

Since I had my metal brace removed last April....I have worn my essix retainer everyday...the first 6 months I wore them day & night, but since then I only wear them at night to sleep in and sometimes during the day when Im just around the home......but I NEVER go to bed without them!

I notice they always feel abit tighter when I put them on at night so I think teeth def move if you dont wear them?
Ive not had any gaps appear or tooth movement and thats the way I want to keep it so I will wear my retainer to sleep in, for life!
I really dont mind.....I dont even think about it

My ortho says "if you like them [when the braces come off] and want to keep them that way..." it's retainers for life, I'm afraid. I'm not fussed about it really; I'm paying so much to improve my bite and dental health, it seems a bit redundant to let all this hard work be for nothing!

At this stage I'm looking at 2-3 years 'active retention', then retainers at night for the long haul. I'm ok with that. If we can cope with all the stuff they put in our mouth during the ortho process, I'm sure we can cope with retention!

But then, it's up to you I guess. I know what I'll be doing...

Depending on what was done in your treatment, yes you will need to wear a retainer 24/7 for at least the first few months after you get your braces off. You MUST follow the advice of your ortho in this regard!

After that, most people can wear it only at night -- every night.

After around a year, you can wear it 3 to 4 nights per week, as long as nothing seems to be moving or shifting.

But if you don't wear the retainer, or stop wearing it after a while, your teeth will move.

If you need to know more about the types of retainers, look at this link:

http://www.archwired.com/FAQ.htm#RET

My orthodontist mentioned that after im done with braces I'd be in a retainer for 3 months 24/7 then gradually decrease until "you only have to wear it enough to keep your teeth straight, notice I didn't say to ever stop wearing it".. I got the point.

I have a permanent retainer which is a small wire bonded to the back of my front teeth. I'm finding this very comfortable to wear and after the first 10 minutes barely notice it there. This will stop my front teeth only from moving, I will be wearing a removable retainer at night that just slips over my teeth to keep the back teeth and my bite aligned.

If you are serious about orthodontic treatment then I would enquire about permanent retainers as they really are much less hassle than the removal ones and are completely invisible to anyone else.

Thanks for all the replys - much appreciated!

Lots to think about.

i was told that I would have to wear a retainer afterwards for a certain amount of months and then every night for a x amount of months, then alternately, but indefinately.....so I'm not 100% sure what my ortho means but I think it means every other night for the rest of my life

I think my ortho has told me at the consultation that I will end up wearing a retainer when I sleep for the rest of my life...pretty sure but I think I'll ask again to make sure.

Hi!

My ortho straightaway, at the initial consulation, told me there's no way he's sending me off to work in a plate and would bond a retainer to the back of my teeth. I think it was amazing that he understood how self conscious I would feel (although you would think by that time comes I would be used to metal in my mouth!)

I had never heard of this until he mentioned it, maybe it's something you could look into. Not only for the aesthetics but you wouldn't have to remember to wear it as it's always there.

i can handle having the retainer indefinitely -after all - for the amount of money being spent for these, i want them to stay straight. Plus my husband and i will look great together -him with his sleep apnea machine and me with a mouthful of orthodontia!! The sandman will be overwhelmed with us.

i can handle having the retainer indefinitely -after all - for the amount of money being spent for these, i want them to stay straight. .

I'm definitely with you there. I never want to go through braces again so I will wear that retainer perfectly

I never want to go through braces again so I will wear that retainer perfectly

Well... you'll probably get a bit lazy about it eventually and skip a night or two here and there. Everyone does. But the good news is that by the time you start getting lazy you're usually at the stage where you only need to wear it 3 - 4 nights per week anyway (18 months - 2 years after braces come off). As long as the laziness is confined to 3 - 4 nights per week wear then it's usually A-OK. (I speak as a 2.5-years-post-braces lazy retainer wearer... although I would never give it up completely.)

I had my braces removed when I was 16. I was told to wear my retainers 24/7 for the first six months, then nightly for the next 6 months, and after that I could wear them every other day for a year and I'd be good. Well, by the time I thought I'd "be good" I went off to college and left my retainers at home. After my first semester in college, I went home and tried on the retainers and they didn't fit. My teeth eventually got worse (even worse than before the braces). So here I am, braced again at 25. For me, the novelty of the braces is fun and all, but I really don't want to go in for a third time ten years from now. Once I get these off I plan on wearing my retainers for as long as my mouth can hold on to them. But then again, I may be self-diagnosing me to be one of the bad cases