Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi! I was debraced this morning and given my Essix retainers about an hour ago. The doctor had one of his assistants give them to me because he was busy with other patients so I didn't get to ask him about this. I cannot close my mouth entirely with the retainers in and I'm worried this is going to affect my bite. Has anyone else had this problem with Essix retainers? The pic below is my mouth closed as far as it will go with the retainers in (pretty much attempting to clench my teeth!) Please excuse the blurriness as this was taken with a camera phone (all I have right now):



Thank you!

I look the same while wearing my Invisalign trays. You simply can't bite down fully when plastic meets plastic. My bite has not been adversely affected at all.

My daughter currently has the same type of retainer you do, but she will be switching to Hawleys next week because she has what her ortho calls a "gentle bite." He feels as if continued wear of the plastic retainers might "open" her bite.

Ask your ortho to explain why he/she chose this type of retainer for you over another. Having that explanation will set your mind at ease. Also, be certain not to miss any retainer follow-up visits as this is how the ortho will check to be sure your bite stays where desired.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

P.S. Your teeth look great, by the way!

Hi finball, I have been talking to you in my other thread. I only have the upper essix and I cannot even close my teeth all the way with that. It's normal from what I have read online, the ortho just needs to keep a close eye on the bite from what I have read (makes sense since the retainers don't allow you to fully close down).

Your teeth do look great!

Thank you both so much! I will ask him just to be sure when I have my second polishing next week.

You can't possibly grit your teeth to touch with both essix on unless you want to break them. you are wearing two plastic trays so there is going to be an extra layer of thickness in between, common sense really. They're there to hold the teeth in position till removed your bite remains the same. Nothing to worry about.