Retainer

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#1 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:45 am

Hey I'm going to be 14 years old and I'm considering going for a Retainer on the top and lower teeth instead of getting braces first because of the price and my teeth are not so bad. I have a gap in my two front teeth and a few minor gaps on the bottom.I also have a overbite.I will try to get some pictures but heres my qustions.

If I get Retainer for the top and bottom will it be effective and permanently move teeth to where there suppose to be?

and if i do so

Will it take longer then braces?

How much do Retainers go for?

My orthodontist told me this is a option should i consider it or just go for braces?

#2 Post by **weird_wired** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 12:13 pm

Well retainers these days are often "for life" - or at least several years. Many people get permanent fixed retainers (in fact my dentist has one, she plans to keep it on for at least five years).

If you read the experiences of people on these forums, you will see that many adults are getting braces for a second time because their teeth shifted again since adolescence. So whether you get braces or retainers, you may be looking at several years to keep them in place.

Either way, if your orthodontist puts a retainer on and it doesn't move your teeth as necessary, you can always get a brace put on later.

#3 Post by **gunter8888** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:59 pm

I have a sister-in-law whose teeth were good enough that she didn't need braces. Her ortho put her in retainers around age 14 and she has worn them consistently ever since to ensure they stay straight. She is now about 28.

As folks who are in their second go round with braces can attest, your teeth can shift throughout your life. Retainers are a lifetime comitment.

#4 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:31 pm

so retainers wont be a permanent solution?

Website · #5 Post by **alexa** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:51 pm

You see, retainers are the permanent solution. Even with braces, you'll have to wear retainers afterwards at night forever, if you want your teeth to remain in their correct positions. What you're talking about now is simply skipping the braces part, since your allignment issues are not very severe, and going straight to the retention phase. You'll probably have to wear the retainers 24/7 for awhile, and then after several months, you'll just move to wearing them at night. Without the continued retainer use, your teeth will move back to their original positions. It's a fact whether you have braces and retainers or just retainers.

#6 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:59 pm

so basically inorder for my teeth to stay perfect where I want them I will need to stay on a retainer I heard the bones heal into one position at a certain age or will they always be going back to there original spot.Im pretty sure im going to go with a retainer though.

Website · #7 Post by **alexa** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:54 pm

From what I've read (but I could be wrong), while your teeth do settle down after major movement, like braces or in your case a retainer, as you get older, unless they are kept in position they tend to move around a little. That's why you see a lot of people who had braces when they were younger have braces again--they didn't keep up with their retainer use. Also some adults who never really had any major teeth issues notice their teeth straying from their good positions over the course of many years.

One thing you could do is get the retainer from your ortho and let your teeth get into the position that you want to keep them in forever, and then have your ortho bond a permanent retainer (it's like a thin wire bonded to the back of the teeth) to your teeth so that you don't have to be bothered with having to remember to wear your retainers. Maybe that way it would feel like a more permanent result.

#8 Post by **missing_tooth** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:01 am

Well retainers these days are often "for life" - or at least several years.

Seems a bit over kill doesn't it? I doubt too many people are lifers. My ortho told me 1.5 to 2 years of retainer, followed by a year of night wear. I suppose if your going for that perfect look 30 years in the future.

If retainers are for life I better not get braced

Website · #9 Post by **alexa** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:40 am

Hey, for all the money these things're costing me, they better look perfect in 30 years...cuz I know nothing else will be perfect on me..I gotta have something!

#10 Post by **weird_wired** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:46 am

missing_tooth wrote:
Well retainers these days are often "for life" - or at least several years.
Seems a bit over kill doesn't it? I doubt too many people are lifers. My ortho told me 1.5 to 2 years of retainer, followed by a year of night wear. I suppose if your going for that perfect look 30 years in the future.

If retainers are for life I better not get braced

Well, the 1.5 years thing is what I remember from schoolfriends that got braced. Fast foward a decade or so, and here are all these adults on this forums getting braced again because things moved. Then there is my dentist who plans to wear hers for at least five years, if not for life. And then there is the phenomenon of fixed retainers, something else I don't recall from my schooldays.

My thought is that conventional treatment ideas have changed, as 1.5 year retainers clearly don't mean you keep your straight teeth for life. For my part - I do want that "perfect look" (or as good as it's going to get!) 30 years in the future. I think the amount of people here in their 50s and 60s are proof of this.

#11 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:38 pm

I hope to get a retainer before the end of january i gotta talk my parents into it.

#12 Post by **shinyam** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:53 am

Personally, I wouldn't mind wearing retainers for the rest of my life (at night). Compared to actually wearing braces, it would be a breeze. And even if there was a 99% chance that the teeth wouldn't relapse if I didn't wear the retainer forever, I'd still wear them. It sure beats going through the process of getting braced again.

#13 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:22 pm

about how much do retainer top and bottoms cost I want to see if its close to what my ortho will say