Braces off for a year... Retainers not working

[Amarea]

Long story short, I've had my uppers off for 14 months. I have hawley retainers both upper and lower. The lowers I've had off for 11 months. I've rarely had to wear the lower retainer. I've had no movement. My uppers I can't have out for more than a few hours at a time or I can barely get the retainer back in. And this is 14 months later. My teeth are wanting to revert back to the way they were. My ortho retired and has a new guy in the practice. I recently went in for my 1 year check and I told them my issue. He seems entirely unconcerned and really didn't care. He made a few adjustments but that was it.

I'm at a total loss. I LOVED my teeth when the braces came off. But even with wearing my Hawley practically 24/7, they are trying to revert back to the way they were before braces.

Here are some pics to show what I'm dealing with.

Brace Day:


Braces off day:


Now:


Compare the first and last photos. You can see how my teeth are attempting to revert to the way they were. I do question the fit of my hawley as well. They shaved it down twice and I think that is part of what is contributing to this movement. Here's a pic of it.



Does anyone have any advice? If you look down at my teeth and not straight on from the front, you can clearly see where the one tooth is back further than the others. I just don't know what to do. I paid over $4k and am completely unhappy with the way they look now

[Amarea]

Please excuse the upclose view of my nostrils LOL

[Plumcore]

Have you considered asking for a permanent retainer? The kind that goes behind your teeth?

[Amarea]

I asked for one originally but he said he never puts them on the uppers because when you are braced as an adult, they have a harder time maintaining the work. Whether that is true or not, I'm not sure. At this point I don't want a permanent retainer on right now as I'm NOT happy with the movement I've had. In the pics I've posted, the tooth in the front on the left is the one that is reverting the worst. It's tipping back and rotating like it was before. I will post a photo of the gap in my retainer. My wire doesn't rest anywhere near that tooth. It sticks way out. I am just at a loss as to what to do other than to be rebraced and have new retainers made.

[Plumcore]

I...don't know what to say. I do see the tooth that tilted, and if i were you i would really put my foot down. Or maybe somehow switch orthos, especially since the original one retired. Maybe call the original, and ask if he can recommend someone.

[ashesgap]

I agree you should find a new office. The movement is obvious and if the new guy doesn't see that he needs to go back to school. I think maybe your retainer was off to begin with, and that's why you've had movement from the beginning.
Good luck.

[Crazy4Snow]

I would be pissed and honestly, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't know what to do. I see what you're talking about though. Good luck and keep us posted.

[CLB26]

I definitely think you need to get another opinion from another orthodontist. Beware of people trying to make money off of you, though. I do see what you are talking about with the movement that's occurred, but it's not so much that it should warrant having braces for a year or years again or anything, I wouldn't think. You could maybe even get it fixed with an appliance or with braces for a few months, who knows. It's really a shame that your beautiful result hasn't been retained properly. I'm sorry to hear .

[SlimZippy]

You and your teeth look lovely in the brace off day picture. I can see the tooth movement since then, which is a real shame. The orthodontist might be able to tweak the wire a little to push it back. If not, I suppose you'll need a few months back in brackets and a better retainer made plus a permanent one fitted.

As plumcore said, you need to be firm with the ortho office. I don't know what else to suggest. Invisalign would probably fix it but you shouldn’t have to pay for it.

I think wire retainers are poorly made. I’m going to get my Hawley changed, it’s certainly putting pressure on the wrong places and I’m seeing some movement that I don’t want too.

[DrJasonKTam]

There is definitely some movement there. It may take a new retainer with a spring or a series of clear lab-made Invisalign style aligners to get the tooth back in place.

Removable retainers alone can be great in certain situations, but it totally depends on how the teeth started off in the first place. Essix retainers may be better at holding certain movements than others, but need to be replaced more often.

Unfortunately, if there's a new orthodontist there, he may not really be responsible for your treatment. Unfortunately, unless he decides that he wants to "uphold" the reputation of the practice by fixing the issue, you may be looking at needing to spend some more money elsewhere. Best of luck!

[Amarea]

I am giving them one more chance to fix it. I have an appointment tomorrow at 2:10. If they are unwilling to do anything about it, I'm going to ask for a partial refund. I'm not going to have $4000 go down the drain because they didn't make my retainers correctly. Here's a pic of my retainer IN my mouth. Look at the tooth that I have the most concern with. It's seated just right against the acrylic. But look where the stupid wire is! I will be showing them this pic for sure.

[Amarea]

There is definitely some movement there. It may take a new retainer with a spring or a series of clear lab-made Invisalign style aligners to get the tooth back in place.

Removable retainers alone can be great in certain situations, but it totally depends on how the teeth started off in the first place. Essix retainers may be better at holding certain movements than others, but need to be replaced more often.

Unfortunately, if there's a new orthodontist there, he may not really be responsible for your treatment. Unfortunately, unless he decides that he wants to "uphold" the reputation of the practice by fixing the issue, you may be looking at needing to spend some more money elsewhere. Best of luck!

Thanks for the professional point of view! I have an appointment tomorrow, I've told them today what my issue is. I'm not entirely sure WHO would be responsible because this doctor has taken over everything and has made adjustments to this retainer as well. I'm honestly not sure whether it was this doctor or the old one who reshaped the retainer. I'm going to see what they are willing to do otherwise I will be seeking out another practice to fix the work.

[TnC]

Good luck tomorrow! Let us know how it goes.

[Amarea]

After 15 minutes of haggling and me SHOWING them what I was talking about, they finally agreed that I was right. I took my records in from last October when I had my final records taken. I showed them the difference between my smile then and now. I told them I knew it was minimal but to me, it was a lot!

They acknowledged that the retired ortho HAD shaved down the retainer on the front tooth last October. In June, the new ortho shaved down the retainer on the one next to it because he thought there was too much of a build up on there which was pushing that one forward. I showed him today that, while YES my teeth are seated right against the retainer, the retainer is crooked on that front tooth. Once I showed him that, he acknowledged that I was right.

Sooooo.... as of Thursday..... my braces are going back on for about 3-4 months and they are making a new retainer. All they are charging me is the retainer fee. So, I'm happy they are getting fixed but sad to be back in metal LOL

Thanks for all the support everyone!

[ashesgap]

Good for you!