retainers - do you wear one? - Page 2

carnation · #16 03-24-2004, 08:09 AM

I still have to wear my upper one at night and you don't even want to know how many years it's been. The dentists said that apparently, there are many, many more people than they'd previously thought who have to do that or their teeth will move.

AlethiaSi · #17 03-24-2004, 09:35 AM

When did you get your braces off? when i was 13... i had them for a year... but i had 4 years of work done before i got them on- a thing to make my top teeth seperate.... head gear... bottom spacer thing to make them all move back... it was bad.... it was definately an awkward phase...

How old are you now? 21

Do you still wear your retainer?... no it doesn't fit anymore and gives me a headache when i try to make it fit

If you don't, have your teeth moved/changed back to what they were? not wehre they were because they were really bad... but they def moved so i can notice it...

jh124 · #18 03-24-2004, 12:07 PM

When did you get your braces off? At 16, after two years of them

How old are you now? In my 30's. Can I leave it at that?

Do you still wear your retainer? Every night. I kept thinking I would give it up in college, then when I got married. Nope, here I am, still wearing my same crappy retainer.

Quote:

The dentists said that apparently, there are many, many more people than they'd previously thought who have to do that or their teeth will move.

If I skip a night, I can tell that my teeth have shifted. My mom had braces and her lower teeth are a mess now. My DH had braces, and his teeth are the same way now - bottom teeth all scraggly.

I need to get a new set of retainers - I've had these for at least 1/2 my life. But I live on the other side of the country now, and would have to actively hunt for an orthodonist....what a hassle!

AchtungBaby80 · #19 03-24-2004, 08:08 PM

I never had braces BUT let me warn you...wear that retainer! I'm serious. I knew a guy who had the worst teeth ever...we're talking crooked as could be. Imagine my shock when I learned that he had had braces when he was younger! He showed me all these pictures from when he was an undergrad, and lo and behold, his teeth weren't that bad then. He never wore his retainer, so I guess they just went back to the way they were before. So I'm telling you...listen to your orthodontist!

By the way, my sister just got her braces off a while ago and she's heard this lecture from me many, many times before.

DolphinChicaDDD · #20 03-25-2004, 01:59 PM

When did you get your braces off? Sophmore year of high school....so I think that is around 98ish...sounds about right

How old are you now? 21

Do you still wear your retainer? No. I got my wisdom teeth out about a year after my braces were taken off, so I couldn't wear it for like a month. During that month, my teeth moved

If you don't, have your teeth moved/changed back to what they were? Not totally. But my teeth weren't really messed up to begin with...my problem is my jaw is too small for all the teeth that I have, and it was creating speech problems and THAT was why I needed braces/retainers in the first place(for all you speech pathaologists and audiologist out there- I had a tongue thrust). I had a retainer and/braces from 2nd grade to high school. THe only tooth that moved was one of the eye teeth, by IMHO as long as the teeth in the 6 front that show when I smile are straight, I don't care about the other ones.

ETA: I never had the one on the bottom. It didn't fit in my mouth. Apparently, there is no bottom retainer small enough to fit me, cause while the top jaw got spaced out thanks to the retainer, the bottom never did.

PADFSUGirl2K2 · #21 03-25-2004, 03:07 PM

When did you get your braces off? May 23rd,1998 (I still remember the date)

How old are you now? 21

Do you still wear your retainer? If I can find the top one.

If you don't, have your teeth moved/changed back to what they were? Yep, I have a gap now.

If you do, how much longer do you plan on wearing it? Until my othodontist says my teeth are in the clear.

Hootie · #22 03-27-2004, 10:30 PM

When did you get your braces off? I was 16...I had the worst time with my teeth that it took forever

And I was a NERD and had not only braces, but head & neck gear, a retainer (while wearing braces) and rubber bands. URG, I hated that!

How old are you now? 24

Do you still wear your retainer? Yes, only because it's a permanent retainer for my lower teeth. I will never be able to remove it, but it prevents my teeth from moving (and I don't even feel it really.

If you don't, have your teeth moved/changed back to what they were? My upper teeth have moved slightly. The only reason I know is because my mother, who is an Orthodontist assistant, gripes about them all the time

you do, how much longer do you plan on wearing it? see above

RioLambdaAlum · #23 03-27-2004, 11:52 PM

When did you get your braces off? 8th grade

How old are you now? almost 25

Do you still wear your retainer? when i remember

If you don't, have your teeth moved/changed back to what they were? they did at first, and now sometimes do making this my third set i have since i dont wear that like i should

If you do, how much longer do you plan on wearing it? probably forever or until i finally say screw it, but i try to wear them for like a week straight and then go a week without it at night.