If you have finished with your orthodontic treatment and are wearing retainers (or will be soon), this is a special place to connect with others in your (enviable) situation. Ask a question or make a comment about life post-braces.
Hello everyone - I'm brand new to this board, I stumbled across it while trying to look up info on retainers. Sure wish I had found it sooner during my time wearing braces, there is so much great information here!
I was just curious if anyone got their braces off and then dealt with pregnancy soon after (in that critical phase where you need to be wearing your Hawley 24/7). I'm pretty sure my ortho said adult patients get a bonded lower and a Hawley upper, but I'm afraid with the first 3-4 months of constant nausea/vomiting I won't be able to wear it enough and wearing these braces will have been all for naught!
I read something about upper bonded retainers, but that they aren't always available because it can interfere with your bite? Any info/thoughts are so very much appreciated!
I'm also pregnant with my second child. I was pregnant with my first whilst in braces!! And now I'm wearing bonded retainers top and bottom and Essix retainers every other evening.
I certainly didn't experience any problems whilst pregant and wearing braces and haven't really experienced any problems with retainers whilst being pregnant, except for wanting to throw up most mornings when I take the Essixs out! But I expect that to disappear fairly soon:)
The really annoying thing I found during pregnancy is that my gums become much more sensitive and are prone to bleeding. Because of morning sickness I found it difficult to thoroughly clean my back teeth without gagging which made the whole swollen gums much worse. Other than that I don't think there are any problems about being pregnant and wearing braces/retainers.
I've been wearing retainers since May. The upper bonded retainer does not interfere with my bite whatsoever, so I would ask about that.
And, luckily I never badly suffered from nausea, and the Essixs didn't cause me any problems when actually wearing them, but did when I took them out mainly because of all the smelly green stuff that builds up in the Essixs overnight made me gag and set of my slight morning sickness.
Hawleys may take a bit of getting used to but I would advise you to talk to your ortho early on and see if you can alter your retainers if you suffer from bad nausea early on.
Thanks so much for the insight - I hadn't even thought about gum sensitivity and I've been trying to make a little checklist of things to prepare for =) My sisters warned me about brushing and the gag reflex which is actually when I started worrying about not being able to put the Hawley in without triggering an unpleasant surprise.
I will definately ask again about an upper bonded retainer - if for nothing else than to at least have it during the really nauseating months. But if they can give it a shot and it works, I feel this would really be a better way to go. Especially if the gums become irritated, those stiff pointy edges on a hawley that touch the roof of your mouth? I can imagine that being a little less than fun when your gums are swollen and cranky. I'd much rather have something permanently holding the teeth in place anyway as this is the second time I have worn braces on my upper teeth (I wore them eleven million years ago and when I stopped wearing my retainer at nights, my teeth moved back.)
At any rate, I am very excited. One week to go and I am metal-free!
