Design of Hawley retainers for holding incisors forward

[frankwhardy]

In my case (class III/underbite) I'm needing to keep my upper incisors tipped forward and prevent backwards migration after the braces come off. So I'm wondering whether the acrylic palate portion of the Hawley retainer can be made to extend down the lingual (rear) surfaces of the upper incisors in order to exert the necessary forward force to prevent those teeth from migrating/tipping backwards? In otherwords, does the acrylic portion of a Hawley retainer normally only cover the palate, or can it also be made to extend down (or up in the case of a lower retainer) behind each tooth as well to give support from the rear? (I'm not able to tell from any of the photos that I've seen.)

Thanks,
Frank

[biteowl]

When I got my Hawley the first time I wore braces (in my case, I had a canine tooth (upper) that kept rotating inward and it was making it clash against the lower teeth, and also made a gap there which I hated, but mostly I hated the headaches from those upper and lower teeth clashing together), I remember the acrylic part fitting snugly against the palate and it went all the way, right up against the base of the teeth, and where the canines were (especially the one that was all rotated and weird), the acrylic seemed to extent not down, but on either side of each tooth. At first it sucked because it felt all stabby on my gums in that spot but I got used to it, but it definately kept the misbehaving canine from shifting or rotating back (until I stopped wearing it much later but that's a different story).

Hope that helps!