Hi, soon my braces will be removed (finally ) and a permanent retainer will be attached to the backside of my teeth. My front teeth are chipped and a bit discolored due to messy bonding and some fluorosis, so i'm planning to get them fixed by veneers or something similar. The only problem is that my dentist can't place the veneers with the permanent retainer attached to my front teeth. So i have to wait with the placing of the retainer to get my teeth done. My main concern is that my teeth will shift during the retainer-free period... am i overreacting? or will the relapse be minimal? please help!!
it depends on how long the period of time is between the removal of braces and placement of retainers. i got my braces off on a thursday and by saturday morning, a gap had opened between my upper front teeth. i was scheduled to get retainers on the monday morning. after placing the retainers, the teeth moved back into their correct position.
i think uppers relapse quicker than lowers but the docs know this and will plan accordingly. the relapse WILL occur, but don't let that scare or frustrate you, once the retainers are on, they will be fine.
If you decide to go with bonding instead of veneers (which is what I did) then they can do that while you have a permanent retainer, as it only goes on the front of the tooth.
@ glowstix: Will the permanent retainer function in the same way as a hawley or essix retainer? I always thought that the permanent ones, wich is basically a thin wire behind the teeth, won't correct any relapses and just 'hold' the teeth in place..
@ swellen: That's a nice thing to hear!!! I don't mind about what i get on my teeth. As long as it's natural looking and strong, what are your experiences with bonding?
I am lucky in that my dentist is good at bonding so it looks very natural. No one can ever tell. I would ask to see some photos first... in my case he'd done bonding on one of my siblings and veneers on two others, so I knew how it would look.
I've only had them for .. ummm... must be nearly two years now, so I haven't had any issues with chipping or staining or anything. I believe they do need to be replaced after 10 years or so but I'll worry about that later. One of the things that turned me off veneers was that they have to file away most of the natural tooth, so it's definitely a process of no return!
If you do go with bonding and you plan to do some whitening, make sure you do that FIRST as the bonding won't whiten. I whitened mine and the dentist matched the composite to that. Usually your dentist would do it, not an ortho, so have a chat with him/her and see what your best option might be.
) and a permanent retainer will be attached to the backside of my teeth. My front teeth are chipped and a bit discolored due to messy bonding and some fluorosis, so i'm planning to get them fixed by veneers or something similar. The only problem is that my dentist can't place the veneers with the permanent retainer attached to my front teeth. So i have to wait with the placing of the retainer to get my teeth done. My main concern is that my teeth will shift during the retainer-free period... am i overreacting? or will the relapse be minimal? please help!! 
