[Anonymous]

Hi im 18 and have just had my braces removed after wearing them for 3 years but ive been told that i have to wear a retainer every night forever which seems odd as other friends that had braces only had to wear theres for about two years.

Has anyone else been told that you need to wear your retainers forever?

[perlsh]

Hm, not forever, but I've been told to wear them till I'm 23 or so (I was 17 when I got them out if I remember correctly) and he actually said I could wear them longer than that.

[secret_smile]

Yes, I was told to wear mine forever. I had my braces off at 18 and I'm still wearing my retainer at 21. But - the teeth on my lower jaw have still moved a bit and my orthodontist said "that sometimes happens" and now they are suggesting I get a fixed retainer put in for £300
So my advice is to get fixed retainer now and get it over and done with. Retainers are such a pain to always remember whenever you go away or something. And there is no pain like it when you have forgotten to wear them for a week or so :/

[NatalieMT]

I had my braces off at 20 (only had them on for about 18 months) and was told to basically wear the retainers for life if I wanted my teeth to stay straight. I have fixed retainers top and bottom and removable retainers for night time wear and I don't find either particularly irritating, the fixed retainers were also included in the cost of the brace. At least with the fixed retainers you have a little bit more peace of mind too. Might be worth asking your orthodontist if they are an option? They are a bit more difficult to clean and obviously they can come off so you just have to attend regular appointments with your normal dentist who can check it's all okay.

[bananaslug77]

I think I wore mine for like 3 years when my orthodontist said to wear them for 2. Even now I sometimes wear them! My teeth have moved but tbf I prefer the way they are now because where my teeth were placed meant that my molars didn't really touch each other so my chewing ability was ****ty. It feels like my teeth have just kinda gently formed a really good bite whilst staying straight!

[xnatsix]

I got told that i had to have them every night forever- lasted about a week and about 2 months in they broke from just remaining on my bedroom floor unused! But my teeth are still perfect 3 years on so no problem!

I think to be on the safe side wear them once a month and if they begin to feel tight it means that you teeth are moving so start wearing them for a bit untill the tightness feeling stops as I may have just been lucky that my teeth haven't moved

[zoep23]

i've also got retainers, its best just to keep them in whenever and wherever you can or your teeth will move and then you've wasted 3 years of your life wearing braces

[xnatsix]

(Original post by zoep23)
i've also got retainers, its best just to keep them in whenever and wherever you can or your teeth will move and then you've wasted 3 years of your life wearing braces

my teeth haven't moved

[Sockpirate]

I got my braces off 5 years ago, and I'm still wearing mine - it's just a habit I've gotten into, and doesn't bother me in the slightest, however over the years I do wear it less than when I first got it. I used to wear it every day, now I probably only wear it about 3 times a week on average. The reason I make sure I still wear it a few times a week though is that I can feel the tightness if I don't wear it for 3 or 4 days, indicating my teeth would actually move if I never wore it.
Seriously, it's not a big hassle, and you don't want to go and have to get them redone just because you didn't bother wearing one!

[fourdigit]

Most people are not actually listening.

If you've been told to wear retainers, they it does come across odd as most individuals don't require to wear this forever.

Moving on, did the dentist exaggerate this a little? Moving on, depending on your doctors expertise's and skills, I have friends who are doctors but in your case, seek a second opinion if you are unsure.

Doctors are also business people, so try looking at the bigger picture as most are now looking at the economy and to be able benefit from stable income.

Next time, ask your dentist more specific, do they actually mean forever or do they mean, perhaps 3 years and we will wait and see how it progresses.

So before you go high on your heels, just ask and be civilized for ease of mind.

I can't judge every doctors the same, they are good doctors and bad doctors. We all seen them on TV, movies, news, real life.

Makes me wonder why that female dentist removed her ex boyfriend teeths. Look on the bright side, you have TEETH

[kka25]

(Original post by fourdigit)
If you've been told to wear retainers, they it does come across odd as most individuals don't require to wear this forever.

Moving on, did the dentist exaggerate this a little? Moving on, depending on your doctors expertise's and skills, I have friends who are doctors but in your case, seek a second opinion if you are unsure.

Doctors are also business people, so try looking at the bigger picture as most are now looking at the economy and to be able benefit from stable income.

This.

I had retainers before but it's just for a short period of time. Sounds a bit dodgy to wear them forever.

[Stripes23]

When I got my braces off a year ago, I was told to wear them every night. Then when I went for a checkup a month ago, I was told that I could slowly start to reduce how often I wear them. For the next two months (three months in total) I've got to wear them every other night, then three times a week for three months, then twice a week for three months. Then I've got to wear them at least once a week for the rest of my life. It seems to be working so far as I've not noticed the retainers getting any tighter now that I'm only wearing them every other night.

[CJKay]

I've gotta wear mine forever, but I only put it in once every couple of weeks now. It can be a bit of a strain, but my teeth are usually back to where they were the next morning.

[fourdigit]

Any professionals, preferably the high paid skilled dentists working with celebrities or other people will have a different treatment.

If you can offer a high paid treatment, your going to get a high paid treatment in most cases. The idea is, dentists are not all clever as you think they're and limited in skills, hence they advise patients the best they can do, perhaps in terms of costs and saving budgets and getting more patients.

Like I said earlier, no patients = no job, manager of dental practice won't be happy.



Going back to the basics, you find a dentist that's right for you and your willing to pay them that SO SO much.

Same applies to doctors in surgery (emergency room), your health, teeth, life is in the hands of the dentist/doctor at the time, and you want someone who can meet your interest the most.

[LouLou92]

after I got my braces taken off the orthodontist told me to wear my retainer every night forever..I think they say forever as an exaggeration to be honest, I mean how many of us are really going to be still fussing about wearing them every night when we're in our 50s or whatever? I barely wear mine now, I find it really difficult to sleep wearing it

[AYO]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Hi im 18 and have just had my braces removed after wearing them for 3 years but ive been told that i have to wear a retainer every night forever which seems odd as other friends that had braces only had to wear theres for about two years.

Has anyone else been told that you need to wear your retainers forever?

everyone's teeth are different. as the comments suggest, some people wore them for a couple weeks after taking their braces out and their teeth are still in perfect shape and others felt tightness after not wearing them for a couple days. i would say, wear them every night for atleast a year just to be on the safe side.

personally, the first time i got retainers, i wore them for a couple months and then stopped altogether, then i realised my teeth had started moving and i tried to wear my retainers but broke them in the process cos my teeth had moved so much and i tried to wear them forcefully.

i am not kidding when i say i had to get braces in again. it was a nightmare but i have no one to blame but myself. however, i have learnt my lesson and two year after taking off my braces for the 2nd time i can say i have worn my retainers EVERY single night since i took the braces off! even on nights when i was drunk off my face, i still remembered to wear them.

im used to it now and its really just part of my routine, i dont think i'll stop wearing them ever (lol or for the next couple years).

but as i said before, everyone's diff, so you may find that you dont need to wear them as often

[AYO]

(Original post by AYO)
everyone's teeth are different. as the comments suggest, some people wore them for a couple weeks after taking their braces out and their teeth are still in perfect shape and others felt tightness after not wearing them for a couple days. i would say, wear them every night for atleast a year just to be on the safe side.

personally,im 17 now and the first time i got retainers (when i was 14 or so), i wore them for a couple months and then stopped altogether, then i realised my teeth had started moving and i tried to wear my retainers but broke them in the process cos my teeth had moved so much and i tried to wear them forcefully.

i am not kidding when i say i had to get braces in again. it was a nightmare but i have no one to blame but myself. however, i have learnt my lesson and two year after taking off my braces for the 2nd time i can say i have worn my retainers EVERY single night since i took the braces off! even on nights when i was drunk off my face, i still remembered to wear them.

im used to it now and its really just part of my routine, i dont think i'll stop wearing them ever (lol or for the next couple years).

but as i said before, everyone's diff, so you may find that you dont need to wear them as often

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[StartSomething]

When I got my brace taken off, I can't remember how long I was told to wear my retainer. But I remember the dentist saying that teeth can move until the age of about 18/19. So I wore my retainer until I was 19, and then I went to uni so didn't take it with me.
I know that my teeth have moved since then. They are still straight, but they have moved.
A few years after getting my brace taken out, if I forgot to wear my retainer for a night, the next time I wore it, it would feel really tight like my teeth had slightly moved.
I wouldn't want to wear it forever though.

[MyJunkIsYou]

The recommendation of 2 years was put across to me as a minimum figure. After those two years the teeth will still move. I am four years down the line from having train tracks removed, have a fixed retainer but still wear my retainer every night.

I was told to wear them for at least 2 years but after that continue to wear them as long as I can. It doesn't cause me any hassle so why not, my teeth haven't moved. If they did I would have to pay a huge amount to get braces again.

[HighestKungFu]

I'm 25 now and had mine taken off at 18. My advice (which came from the top orthodontist at London Hospital at the time) is to sleep with the retainer in every night for the first year, then about 4-5 nights a week in the year after that and from then on 1-2 nights a week or even not at all. To be honest I rarely ever sleep with it in now and my teeth haven't moved.

Just sleep with it in a couple of days a week and you'll be fine.