othodontia - do you have a permanent retainer?

[janinegirly]

I''ve had one for years..behind my bottom teeth, only a thin/short metal bar--barely detectable to me and unnoticeable to everyone else. It started to break down though (had it for 20yrs) so my dentist advised I replace it. So i did...cost $100 and now it is even longer and it is really annoying me since I"m not used to it.

does anyone else have one--do you think it really is necessary? I thought I was the only one but my dentist says they are now advising people wear retainers for life (either temporary or permanent) since teeth will always move.

 

[sba771]

My FI has a permanent while I have ''old school'' bottom and upper ones and I honestly wear them every night. I kind of agree with your dentist, your teeth do shift and we (or our parents) paid so much to get us nice teeth, why not keep it up? I feel naked without them when I sleep.

 

[elrohwen]

DH and I both have them. Mine goes behind the 6 front teeth on the bottom. DH has two shorter ones, I think on the top teeth? I can''t remember.

I stopped wearing my upper retainer at some point and I can tell that my teeth have started to move back a bit. So I think they''re necessary!

 

[Callisto]

Yep I have a permanent one behind my bottom teeth. I also have a top one i wear at night but I think I need to get a new one. I can tell that throughout the day my bottom teeth push my top teeth into a more comfortable position and right when I take it off in the morning my bite doesn''t feel right. But I know its like $60 for a new one and I don''t really feel like dishing that out right now. As much as mine bugs me at times I''ll probably keep it forever cause my mom would KILL me if my teeth got messed up... I had braces twice so it was definitely an investment from my parents.

 

[rhbgirl24]

Date: 12/15/2009 10:27:16 AM
Author:janinegirly
I''ve had one for years..behind my bottom teeth, only a thin/short metal bar--barely detectable to me and unnoticeable to everyone else. It started to break down though (had it for 20yrs) so my dentist advised I replace it. So i did...cost $100 and now it is even longer and it is really annoying me since I''m not used to it.


does anyone else have one--do you think it really is necessary? I thought I was the only one but my dentist says they are now advising people wear retainers for life (either temporary or permanent) since teeth will always move.

I have the exact same thing! Been on for about 15 years.... really hard to floss with. But since I haven''t had my lower wisdom teeth removed, they say its good to keep my teeth really straight....

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I''m happy to have mine. I only have one on the bottom and I really wish they''d just give me another one for the top!

 

[monarch64]

No, I do not. In fact, I wore invisalign-style retainers for six months and stopped altogether. 6 months after stopping wearing them, my teeth have not shifted. But, I had braces as an adult, and after my wisdom teeth were removed. My orthodonist is my age...and doesn''t do the permanent retainers any more. My former ortho was probably in his 60''s and was JUST stopping recommending the permanent retainers. Different schools of thought out there on this one, it seems.

 

[Rachel9]

Oh yeah it is necessary IMHO, after 7 years of wearing it I cracked my fixed retainer in a minor car accident, didn''t replace it. Whithin two years {and a pregnancy} the aligment was off and quite noticeable in a few months, got the permanent again, lesson learned.

 

[Haven]

I have a permanent retainer behind my two front teeth. It looks just like a staple without the two little legs. I''ve had it for 15 years, and I''m really glad that my orthodontist put it in. I wish I had one on my bottom teeth, too.

DH has beautiful teeth and he never had braces or any other orthodontia, so nothing for him.

 

[yssie]

Date: 12/15/2009 10:27:16 AM
Author:janinegirly
I''ve had one for years..behind my bottom teeth, only a thin/short metal bar--barely detectable to me and unnoticeable to everyone else. It started to break down though (had it for 20yrs) so my dentist advised I replace it. So i did...cost $100 and now it is even longer and it is really annoying me since I''m not used to it.

does anyone else have one--do you think it really is necessary? I thought I was the only one but my dentist says they are now advising people wear retainers for life (either temporary or permanent) since teeth will always move.

I have one that sounds exactly like your old one. I''ve had it for seven years now, doesn''t bother me one bit anymore and noone else can see it. It''s the only thing preventing my lower front teeth from shifting, though, so I''m definitely wearing one for life! I still wear my plastic retainers at night, too.

 

[AprilBaby]

This is true. Retainers for life. Teeth move your entire life and this will help keep them in place.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I have a permanent one on my bottom teeth. It''s a thin wire that''s attached with those brackets on the next-to-last molars. Doesn''t bother me at all.

I had one behind my front 4 teeth but it fell out a few years ago and I haven''t replaced it. My teeth have shifted, which I''m very self-conscious about.

 

[sunnyd]

I have one on my bottom front 4 teeth. I stopped wearing my top retainer loooong ago though. My teeth have barely moved at all. Lucky me!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I do! I think they call it an appliance. Maybe not. Not sure what it really is. It is just behind my top four teeth. It makes flossing a pain but it does keep them strait. I wish he had done the top six teeth b/c one has shifted. I have thought about asking my dentist to pop it off. I have had it for 17ish years. My sister had the same thing I had and her dentist took it out. She never mentioned any problems.

 

[Sabine]

Dh has one. Odd as it is, when we were first going out I always had the urge to try and pull it out whenever I saw it.

I had braces and was supposed to wear retainers. After a while I stopped, and my teeth have shifted back a bit noticably.

 

[Elmorton]

DH has one on the bottom - I wish I had one! My bottom teeth were perfect 10 years ago. Not so much now.

 

[HopeDream]

I have one on my bottom teeth that broke today!

the solder holding the wire to the bracket gave way.

Guess I''m going to the dentist tomorrrow!

How stressful!!!

 

[that_someone_special]

I have a permanent bottom one. I had more work done on the top (bonding, and eventually veeners) that I don''t need one on the top.

After reading this thread, I shot my parents a THANK YOU email for putting braces on the 3 of us "kids" when we were growing up.

I am SO thankful for straight healthy teeth (look ma no cavities!)

 

[LGK]

Date: 12/15/2009 3:39:35 PM
Author: yssie

Date: 12/15/2009 10:27:16 AM
Author:janinegirly
I've had one for years..behind my bottom teeth, only a thin/short metal bar--barely detectable to me and unnoticeable to everyone else. It started to break down though (had it for 20yrs) so my dentist advised I replace it. So i did...cost $100 and now it is even longer and it is really annoying me since I'm not used to it.

does anyone else have one--do you think it really is necessary? I thought I was the only one but my dentist says they are now advising people wear retainers for life (either temporary or permanent) since teeth will always move.

I have one that sounds exactly like your old one. I've had it for seven years now, doesn't bother me one bit anymore and noone else can see it. It's the only thing preventing my lower front teeth from shifting, though, so I'm definitely wearing one for life! I still wear my plastic retainers at night, too.

My cousinsister has one exactly like yours and has for... um 15 years or so? Her teeth are still perfectly straight. My DH & I didn't have them, but had braces as teens, and both of us had our teeth shift out of alignment.

I do wish I'd been able to have braces for more than a year when I was a kid- no money for the orthodontist, no braces, right? so my teeth aren't that straight- they look OK but my bite is so off one of my bottom teeth is worn down very weirdly, looks like it was chipped at a 45 degree angle. I'd keep up with the retainer! Could you ask for a smaller one if the new one continues to annoy?

 

[noelwr]

I have exactly the same thing... wire inside my bottom 6 teeth. I''ve had it for about 15 years. I think it was supposed to come out after 2, but the dentist said that if I keep it clean (which I have to with toothpicks because obviously flossing is impossible) I can keep it for life. if it had to be removed, yes, I think I''d like to replace it so that the teeth stay straight together and don''t start overlapping. I don''t think $100 is a lot but I do wonder why yours is longer? I would personally look into having an orthodontist replace it as I trust my dentist as far as I can throw her. luckily she doesn''t ever have to do anything serious with me teeth!

 

[janinegirly]

wow, I had no idea so many people have the same thing! Mine was in for 20yrs, so I thought it was some left over trend from the 80''s .
My top teeth did shift a bit, so I guess it goes to show a retainer is necessary. I''m getting more used to the new one--i do wish he kept it to the bottom 4 teeth like the original, but too lazy to go back...

I also wonder if you put one in later on (after teeth shift) if it makes things tighter or if it only keeps the status quo.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I don''t have a permanent one but i wear invisalign, i put my last set of aligners on the bottom tonight! woo hoo!!

I plan on wearing them every night once my treatment is over. My dentist says that it is not necessary but since this is the second time i have had braces i am not taking any chances!!

 

[katamari]

I have the wire across the bottom front six teeth. Have also had it for about 20 years now. My current orthodontist actually said that I could have it removed if I wanted because it is his opinion that teeth do not shift as an adult unless there is some sort of jaw/facial injury. I didn''t have my wisdom teeth out until a year and a half ago, so I waited until there. I have been lazy about making the appointment to get it removed, but I plan to. It causes me a lot of problems (particularly with the wire becoming detached, fraying, and cutting the holy heck out of my mouth).