Anyone have a positioner in between braces and retainers?

[Nozzelnut]

Anyone have a positioner in between braces and retainers?

From what I've read it settles the teeth before retainer impressions and allows for better retention with retainers.

Just looking for input or experiences.

[art]

I had one, but it was ironically called the "pro"sitioner. I did not feel like a pro wearing it. It was exhausting. The treatment was to bite into it so it could make the needed adjustments but it was really dense rubber/plastic. It totally made verbal communication impossible, since it was 3x's as bulky as any sports mouth guard. Like boxing mouthguard thick. I couldn't talk through it, or around it. There were three pin holes in the front to breathe through if my nose was plugged. The prescription was to wear it 24/7, which may have worked if everyone around me was braced or recently debraced and wouldnt ask questions, but it was so foreign to everyone that they would ask "Now what do you have in your mouth?", which really left me no option but to take it out and start talking.

[Snowglobe32]

I have a posititoner and I use it as my retainer. It really is the "king" of all retainers. It is an exact replica of your teeth, in perfect placement.

I got my braces off, my essix retainer was created that day and I was also fitted for the positioner. The positioner took 6 weeks to arrive. It is a pain at times but it holds your teeth in perfect placement. Once you get past the initial wear time (as much as you can for 3 days), you go down to 8 hours a day then only having to wear it once a week. You can *not* wear it for weeks and start up again and your teeth are put into perfect placement again.

I can't wear it at night because it falls out of my mouth when I sleep so I wear it for a few hours on the weekends and in the morning when getting ready for work. It has truly worked much better than my retainer.

I used the essix everyday for two years (couldn't wear the positioner at night due to sinus issues) then my essix cracked so I've just been using the positioner. I highly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to get a postitioner, to do so...mine cost $500 but is was well worth it...especially seeing how the essix did not hold my teeth in perfect placement. It stinks that a lot of orthos do not offer positioners but they truly are the best thing you can have.

Nozzelnut~ if you need one, it sounds like they want you to have one before your retainer is made... I would recommend getting one, wearing it for the prescried time, then get the retainer made....save the positioner as a back up. My ortho told me I did not need to wear it for 24 hours a day...just as much as I could for the first 3 days...I started it on a long weekend when I didn't have to work.

[art]

Did your jaw get tired wearing it? I was supposed to bite into mine and essentially chew on it.

[Snowglobe32]

Yes, my jaw did get a bit tired...but over time, you get used to it.

[Nozzelnut]

Thanks for the replies. I might ask for one to make sure my teeth stay where they are for as long as they can.

[samoorelaw]

I got a positioner in conjunction with wraparound top and bottom Hawley retainers and so far, just over 3 months later, everything is exactly how they need to be. In fact, at my retainer check appointment last week, my ortho basically said everything looks great and that I no longer need to see him unless an issue comes up: and I'm supposed to get 3 retention appointments for a year post-removal (at 3, 6, and then 12 months), and yet he thinks I don't need the other 2.

The first time I had my braces removed, I had no positioner and just the Hawleys and I still relapsed quite quickly, and I wore my retainers 24/7. The most I've ever worn my positioner is for an hour and now I try to wear it a little bit every day (15-30 minutes) and things seem to be good. After I had researched positioners on this board and on other sites, I decided to ask my ortho for the positioner. I had to ask several times before he finally relented (and didn't charge me extra surprisingly): he didn't believe they have that high of a success rate for open bite patients or he indicated he believed the results were negligible.

I can only speak anecdotally but given my experiences with braces and relapse, I think the only reason my bite is stable now is due to my positioner. While it could be just a coincidence that my bite is more stable now after being prescribed the positioner (perhaps my bite is just more stable after this third round in braces), I truly believe that the positioner made all the difference.

Goes to show that you have to be your own best advocate and research, research, research. Of course you should always trust your ortho but at the end of the day, I believe no one knows your teeth like you, or at least cares more about them than you.