Question about painful "Spring/Hawley retainer."

[New2Orthodontics]

Hi all, I'm new here! I never had braces, but as I've gotten older, one of my front teeth shifted backwards (from crowding presumably). I went to an orthodontist, and she said that she'd give me a "spring retainer" for 2 months, and then bond a permanent retainer to the backs of my teeth.

Well, I got the "spring retainer," but it doesn't look like the ones I've seen online. It looks like a Hawley retainer with a piece of the pink plastic cut away behind the pushed back tooth, and a piece of scriggly metal in its place.

It looks like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ainers.jpg

Also, the metal prongs that hook around my back teeth are KILLING my mouth. It feels like they are separating my back molars because of how deeply they're jammed between my teeth. Also, I cannot close my mouth, because my bottom teeth hit those same prongs.

Is that normal? My entire mouth is throbbing, except for my front tooth (the one that is supposed to be getting pushed forward). Is a Hawley retainer supposed to prevent you from shutting your mouth? Is it supposed to feel like all of your teeth are in a vice grip?

Thank you SO MUCH for any help!