Metal Mouth Message Board

I LOVE my essix retainers!!
I got my braces off last thursday,and got my essix retainers later in the afternoon.

I was amazed at how comftorable and not noticable they are!
i was so worried that they would be horrible!
My mother didnt even notice i was wearing them for about the first 5 min i was talking to her!
THEY ARE SOOO COMFY!
i seriously cant even describe how nice they are!
I have even said that I like the way it feels with my retainer on better than when it is off!
lol
AND
the other great news is that my ortho said i only have to wear them for about 2 months 24/7 and then only a hawley at night!
But I probably will continue to wear them during the day cause they are incredibly comfy,and i have become extremely anal about wearing them to keep my teeth perfect!!

That's awesome to hear. I go to pick up my Essix retainer today and I'm so happy to read your post! I've had about 5 days of naked teeth and I'm getting a little spoiled...

ladyc - Wow it sounds like you just wrote that post for me. I am experiencing the same thing with my essix retainer. Super comfortable and you can't notice at all unless someone is really close. I had a lisp for about 2 days (not that it was really bad) and after that I went just back to normal. I love the way my teeth look in the retainer and have become super anal about wearing it too. Even so much so that I seem to eat quicker than I used to so I don't have my retainer out too long.

Glad to hear someone is enjoying (what I thought was to be dreaded) retainer part of the braces journey.

~serendipity~

P.S - I just posted a new topic about essix retainers so I'll be eager to hear what your thoughts are.

^Yes serendipity I know exactly what you are talking about when you say you eat faster!Me too!I thought I was the only one! lol
Its silly but It does make me feel better to not have them out for long.

Im so glad you are enjoying your retainers too!

I LOVE my essex, too!

I get a bonded lower in a few weeks and will have to give up my essex for that...I'll miss it!

It is really comfy!

such positivity for the essix , i just have one question..is it ever annoying, or does it feel weird when biting down? i heard you wont be able to close your mouth fully, makes me kind of want a hawley's because of that

YOu can feel it when you bite down. Since I only have it on the bottom, it feels like my upper teeth are just snuggling up with it.

With only the bottom covered, I don't really have any problems closing my bite down.

It is not annoying. On a few occasions, I actually have taken a bite of food with it in because I completely forgot it was there!

It does give my tongue something to play with when it's bored though.

I LOVE my essix retainers!!
I got my braces off last thursday,and got my essix retainers later in the afternoon.

I was amazed at how comftorable and not noticable they are!
i was so worried that they would be horrible!

Yay! This is happy news for you (obviously) and also for people like me who anticipate wearing retainers soon. (Fingers crossed.) Although I wear ceramic braces, my ortho actually specializes in Invisalign and definitely factors in esthetics as well as comfort, so it's likely that I'll end up in Essix retainers too.

Congrats on getting debanded!

Do the Essix retainers have a plastic-y taste?

Do the Essix retainers have a plastic-y taste?

Nope! They taste like nothing.

I am with you all... I love my Essix retainer! It is so comfy. I have the Essix on top, I am able to bit down just fine so no problems there. And no plastic tast at all.
Tomorrow I will get a Hawley on the bottom. My ortho usually does a bonded bottom retainer but I have a tooth missing and will someday be getting a bridge so the Ortho wants to maintain the tooth's space. The Hawley will have a 'tooth' on it to do just that.

I am with you all... I love my Essix retainer! It is so comfy. I have the Essix on top, I am able to bit down just fine so no problems there. And no plastic tast at all.
Tomorrow I will get a Hawley on the bottom. My ortho usually does a bonded bottom retainer but I have a tooth missing and will someday be getting a bridge so the Ortho wants to maintain the tooth's space. The Hawley will have a 'tooth' on it to do just that.

. My ortho usually does a bonded bottom retainer but I have a tooth missing and will someday be getting a bridge so the Ortho wants to maintain the tooth's space. The Hawley will have a 'tooth' on it to do just that.

You know that an essix can completely cover each tooth beside the missing tooth and still hold the space open? Were you given that option?

No I wasn't given that option. I didn't realize an Essix could be made to do the same thing. There maybe another reason for my ortho's choice for me to have Hawley along with the 'tooth' reason. I don't know.

No I wasn't given that option. I didn't realize an Essix could be made to do the same thing. There maybe another reason for my ortho's choice for me to have Hawley along with the 'tooth' reason. I don't know.

The Hawley can be adjusted for minor tooth movements, the Essix cannot. Thats probably why he chose the Hawley.