Metal Mouth Message Board

Folks,
I was debraced yesterday. Enjoying the free day without braces/retainers. I'll be getting hawley retainers tomorrow. Can those who have had Hawley, please post their experiences.

-How does it feel on the first day?
-Does it look & feel like being braced again?
-I have read about Hawley disrupting the speech. I am panicking about this as my job requires me to talk all day long.
-Will I be able to eat with it?
-Will I be able to take them out for 1-2 hrs a day?

Thanks,

The Hawleys feel very bulky during the first few days. But it takes surprisingly little time to get used to the way they feel. It's a different feeling to being braced because there is very little on the front of your teeth, just a thin wire which you hardly notice, but there is the plate on the roof of your mouth which feels different. However, this really didn't bother me because the psychology of the retainer is different to the fixed brackets/wires - this time you can take it out and get a rest from having hardware in your mouth - and that makes a huge difference in how you manage them.

Normal speech resumes again in a surprisingly short time frame. Mine was ok after about 4-5 days. I can't eat with them though, the food just gets into places you didn't realise existed. However, drinking with them is fine.

With eating/cleaning time you will probably have them out for 1-2 hours a day anyway which for me was ok. My ortho wants me to wear them more or less full-time for 12 months (one month to go!) and I have kept to this fairly well. I've had them out for up to 6 hours a day and the teeth haven't moved.

Don't worry about them too much. After wearing the bands, the retainers are a breeze.

I had an upper Hawley and after many months my Orth switched me to an Essix. The Essix made the Hawley feel like a torture device! I hated that thing! I love the Essix, I hardly know it's there.

Then I needed a retainer on my lower teeth; unfortunatly it's a Hawley. It's not as bad on the bottom, but I would go Essix if I was you.

- On the firs day they felt HUGE, I did not expect that at all.
- It does not look or feel like being braced again...for me it felt worse. I was only happy for two days (the ones I was waiting for the retainers to be done). When I first saw them I did not like them and I sure did not like the 3 tiny springs that were put in it to work on some of my teeth. Honestly, in those moments I just wanted my braces back.
- The speech improved a little bit in the next 6 days (I am on the 6th day of wearing them), I sure hope it will improve more...much more.
- I am not able to eat with them, I wouldn't try because it can bent the wires. I drink water normally, and any other drink with a straw.
- I take them out everytime I eat, and usually 1 - 1 1/2 hours later they are back in my mouth. Considering that, I think I spent 3-4 hours/day without them.

The BIG surprise I did not expect was not being able to bite down all the way. My teeth do not touch at all with the retainers in.

I am a little bit envious on the people who had their teeth fixed in their teen years because they do not have to worry about retainers as much as we do.

Reading my post, I realize that it's not very positive. I hope I'll get more optimistic in the future.

-How does it feel on the first day?
A little tightness for me.

-Does it look & feel like being braced again?
It's less obvious but it feels the same.

-I have read about Hawley disrupting the speech. I am panicking about this as my job requires me to talk all day long.
I think it's just a matter of getting used to it. Initially, it had an adverse effect on my salivary glands and I can't help feeling that I'm going to drool when speaking. But it will be fine after a while (:

-Will I be able to eat with it?
Your orthodontist will probably advise you to remove it before eating.

-Will I be able to take them out for 1-2 hrs a day?
Yes. But not for too long.

Hope this helps

jun08 wrote:Folks,
I was debraced yesterday. Enjoying the free day without braces/retainers. I'll be getting hawley retainers tomorrow. Can those who have had Hawley, please post their experiences.

-How does it feel on the first day?
-Does it look & feel like being braced again?
-I have read about Hawley disrupting the speech. I am panicking about this as my job requires me to talk all day long.
-Will I be able to eat with it?
-Will I be able to take them out for 1-2 hrs a day?

Thanks,

They do feel kind of bulky the first day, but it definitely doesn't feel like being braced again - unless you had extra appliances on top of your braces. The speech issue gets better in time, I've noticed that it's barely noticeable wearing one or the other, but both together can cause speech difficulties, your tongue has to form sounds differently.

Can't eat with them in, unless it's something like soup or jello that requires no actual chewing. I've left mine out a good 6 hours without too much trouble, probably shouldn't because they have springs in them