Eating with Retainers

[jlz]

Hi everyone,

I just got my braces off yesterday (horray!) and now i have to wear my upper hawley retainers 24/7. They feel so weird! One of my molars on the left is throbbing and aching like crazy, is this normal? It hurts too much to eat on that side so I've been reduced to chewing everything on the right side of my mouth. Everything seems to get lodged to the roof of my mouth and my retainer moves a little bit when i bite anything. Do I need to go back to my ortho and get it fixed up or is this something I just have to get used to?

Thanks in advance!

jlz

[Kevin]

Why would you eat with your retainer in? It's removable so just take it out to eat... As for the pain, not sure if it's normal or not. I didn't have any pain with my retainers, but I didn't have any pain with braces either.

Kevin

[jenns91civic]

I don't think you're supposed to eat with your retainers in...You usually are meant to take them out to eat and brush your teeth. Pain is normal with rets and will go away in a couple days. A word of caution: if you skip a day or two, they will feel tight and make your teeth sore again when you put them back on. They fit much better if you just wear them as prescribed. It took me 3 months to figure out how well my upper fits if I quit skipping chunks of time each day.

[jlz]

Thanks for the advice, i was worried that if i had them out for more than a few minutes at a time my teeth would start moving back to their original position.

Just wondering though, does anyone keep their removable retainers in when their eating? or have I been the only one? :S

jlz

[Jazziboo]

I was told to take them out to eat and brush.

[BracesAt42]

I also believe you should take your retainers out to eat.

When done eating, brush teeth, brush retainer, re-insert retainer.

The pain I am not sure of; I have not had any pain when wearing mine; if the pain does not subside in a few days, I would see the ortho and perhaps he/she needs to adjust your retainers.

Good luck, and congrats on being naked!

[jlz]

Thanks everyone

[slywy]

I don't think you're supposed to eat with your retainers in...You usually are meant to take them out to eat and brush your teeth. Pain is normal with rets and will go away in a couple days. A word of caution: if you skip a day or two, they will feel tight and make your teeth sore again when you put them back on. They fit much better if you just wear them as prescribed. It took me 3 months to figure out how well my upper fits if I quit skipping chunks of time each day.

I'm in the first 5 minutes and . . . owww. They don't feel quite right. I guess some stuff moved around in the one week . . . I hope they loosen up soon or I won't be able to sleep tonight!

[eyegolf20]

my ortho said to try to eat with the Hawley in. I've gotten used to it but depending on what I'm eating, I sometimes remove it.

[rooroo]

The first week I had my Hawleys I had pain akin to one of the early adjustments with braces. After a month I no longer have pain. You can certainly take them out for the 30 minutes it takes to eat. Your teeth will not shift that quickly, and if they do, you have the hawley to correct it.

[johnnys_angel]

I have heard my orthodontist tell patients to wear their retainers 24/7 except for when brushing. My friend, who goes to the same orthodontist, told me that it felt REALLY weird when she first started to eat with them in, but she got used to it. As for the pain, I have permanent retainers but I can tell you that I did have some soreness/pain for a few weeks after getting my braces off. Good luck!