Retainer Woes....

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#1 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:39 pm

Ok, i just got my braces off yesterday. My upper left molar which had the band on it was a pain in the behind to get off. Very unpleasant! So...consequently that molar is really sore. I have Essix on top and bottom, and they are very painful to take off and put on!

I was told not to eat with them, but it just hurts too bad to take them off and put them back on again so I have been eating soft, swallow only foods like applesauce rice etc.

I can feel that they are pushing the back molars in a bit to help close those spaces from the bands. Things are fine once I have them on, but if I take them off and eat, when I put them back on it is misery as the teeth start to shift a bit and must be snapped back into the retainer.

Is this normal? Will it get better in a couple of days? This is like a whole new thing for me. OH....and my teeth are super sensitive to like cold and hot, and touch. Anyone else have this issue?

Brandy

#2 Post by **Ariesinatl** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:21 am

Hi Brandy,

I got my braces off last Thursday. My upper essix is very hard to get on and off. After the second day my teeth were hurting horribly and it seemed all my teeth were shifting. I can only assume that from when I got my molds done to when I got the retainers my teeth shifted. Now the upper essix is causing my teeth to revert to that last adjustment. I just made an appointment for tomorrow, to have a little chat with my Doctor.

I think I will ask him to rebrace and possibly redo the molds once there are n o adjustments needed.

You might be in the same situation, where your teeth moved between the molds and getting your retainer.

PS Your teeth look fantastic!!

#3 Post by **lionfish** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:09 pm

For what it's worth, ariesinatl, I had a 6 day lag between braces' removal and picking up retainers. Certainly my teeth had shifted a bit in that time, but the retainers quickly moved them back to square one.

I'm not sure I follow why you want to go back into braces if your teeth have now moved into the position they were in on your debanding day...

#4 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:41 pm

I'm kindof thinking now that is just the normal adjustment phase. My teeth were really sore, and still are a bit, but I noticed today that after 3 days of continuous wear (and I do mean continuous, I never took them off for more then 15 minutes at a time, and only 1 or 2 times a day) That my teeth are starting to feel better. The lowers are no longer aching like they were, and the retainers are getting easier to put on and get off now! I suspected that this retainer adjustment would be like a normal wire adjustment, in that it would take 2-3 days to feel better.

Today is the first day though that things feel almost normal! I think the whole point of the retainers is to keep you teeth in that specific position. My ortho says if the retainers are tight then you need to keep wearing them until your teeth get back to where they need to be. I can say that for the past two days getting my retainers off has been really rough, but now, they are coming off pretty easily, and they are snapping on a lot easier. I think you just need to give it a bit of time, and take them off as little as possible. I don't think there is anyway to prevent slight movement. It takes about 2-3 years for teeth to stabilize (if you are young) if you are older they never really do, and you will have to wear retainers nightly forever to keep them from moving. That is what my ortho said anyway.

Also others I know have said the same thing, that it is sortof a love hate relationship with retainers. You will hate them because they are annoying and uncomfortable, but love how they will move your teeth back to where they belong once they start to migrate. I think this is probably true.

HOpe this helps some, oh and thanks for the compliment on my teeth! I'm pretty happy with the results myself!

Brandy

#5 Post by **Jillianleab** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:39 pm

Glad to hear you've gotten used to the retainers after a few days! I remember my teeth were a little sensitive to hot/cold when I first was debanded, but that passed quickly. I think the difficulty in getting the retainers in and out has more to do with learning the right way to do it than anything else!

My ortho told me the retainer should feel tight, but not like it is applying pressure; if it is, that's a sign the teeth have moved.

About your molars, my ortho cut my upper retainer to allow my molars (which had bands) to settle. I was left with a gap after debanding and food and all sorts of goodies kept getting stuck in there. The gaps closed on their own in the right place after a few weeks. Maybe you could ask your ortho about this option with your molars?