Yo! What the heck is this crap the orthodontist is telling me?!

[Puffin]

Okay. I'd been wearing braces for almost three years. Went to the ortho three days ago and got them off. Went to get my retainers today. "Wear them full-time for 6 months." Okay, gotcha. "After the 6 months, use them at night only for 6 months." Fine by me. Then - what the fuck?! I have to continue wearing them at least once a week for the rest of my life?! What is this crap they're telling me? REALLY? I'm gonna have to take care of, and keep track of, these damn things for the rest of my life?!

[Jeff777]

Yeah. You will actually. Same thing happened to my cousin years ago. Sorry that you didn't win the lucky genetics lottery. =/ Too bad you didn't get lasered.

[Dowzen]

I have to continue wearing them at least once a week for the rest of my life?! I've never heard that. I'm not an orthodontist, but maybe the guy's just trying to generate an extra revenue stream by having you in for 6 monthly checkups til you're 90. I wore braces when I was younger. My teeth moved and never moved back. If you start to get big teeth again, then worry. If not, pay it no mind.* *Not medical advice.

[[SomeGuy]]

I have to continue wearing them at least once a week for the rest of my life?! Mhmm Same thing happened to my girlfriend. Shit SUCKS yo.

[Puffin]

Yeah, I certainly pulled the short straw when it came to genetics.

[Maria92]

Yeah, if you don't do that, your teeth will ever so slowly start to migrate over the course of your life, to the point where they're slightly crooked around the age of 50. Wear a retainer, or don't...I'm not convinced it makes that much of a difference. If you haven't already, get your wisdom teeth extracted. They will play havoc with your teeth.

[Dowzen]

The food and nutrients we eat are much more important than our genes, IMO. A lot of people blame their health problems on genes, when its really down to poor nutrition and environmental toxins. There are other ways to strengthen teeth, once you have the smile you want. Oil pulling and nutrition might help. Weston A Price knew a lot about nutritional dental care. I can see that your teeth might very slowly start to migrate back over decades, but I don't know if it's that noticeable. By the time you're 50 you'll prolly be married anyway, and your wife will have poor eyesight by then, she won't see, so relax.

[Puffin]

Yeah, if you don't do that, your teeth will ever so slowly start to migrate over the course of your life, to the point where they're slightly crooked around the age of 50. Wear a retainer, or don't...I'm not convinced it makes that much of a difference. If you haven't already, get your wisdom teeth extracted. They will play havoc with your teeth. My back molars hadn't even erupted until last year. My wisdom teeth are very far behind, too. The orthodontist doesn't see them having any effect on my teeth for the next few years. o_O The food and nutrients we eat are much more important than our genes, IMO. A lot of people blame their health problems on genes, when its really down to poor nutrition and environmental toxins. There are other ways to strengthen teeth, once you have the smile you want. Oil pulling and nutrition might help. Weston A Price knew a lot about nutritional dental care. I can see that your teeth might very slowly start to migrate back over decades, but I don't know if it's that noticeable. By the time you're 50 you'll prolly be married anyway, and your wife will have poor eyesight by then, she won't see, so relax. I'm a very healthy eater, so I'm guessing that's not going to be a factor in how soon my teeth want to move back to their original position. I'm just wondering how fast they'd actually move...

[Jeff777]

your wife will have poor eyesight by then, she won't see, so relax. Untrue, also you assume she's a lesbian. Why?

[Puffin]

Untrue, also you assume she's a lesbian. Why? I'm really just hoping that was a mistake.

[Dowzen]

Untrue, also you assume she's a lesbian. Why? I'm really just hoping that was a mistake. Ha! I saw a guy on your Avatar and thought you were male. I see the gender symbol now. Untrue? It was just a random comment, nothing to take seriously. Basically, I don't think the OP has much to worry about.

[Puffin]

Ha! I saw a guy on your Avatar and thought you were male. I see the gender symbol now. Untrue? It was just a random comment, nothing to take seriously. Basically, I don't think the OP has much to worry about. I did the same thing with a few other members. x) I'm sure I'll get used to the retainer notion, but right now I'm just so pissed.

[dakotahnok]

If he told me that I would be like. "fuck that! Just pull all my teeth out and give me dentures!!" I'd also start breaking everything in his office. Screaming the f word. And write a personal add on craigs list with his name and address. That's how adults handle things.

[Seroquel]

I never wore my retainer, and my teeth never moved. It's been a couple years. feelsgoodman

[Puffin]

Haha. I thought about maybe just saying "screw this" and getting dentures - they seem like they're half the work of a retainer. xD Maybe I won't wear them as much, and only put the retainer in only once a week to see if it's tight, ie. my teeth are still moving.

[Jeff777]

Haha. I thought about maybe just saying "screw this" and getting dentures - they seem like they're half the work of a retainer. xD Maybe I won't wear them as much, and only put the retainer in only once a week to see if it's tight, ie. my teeth are still moving. Fuck dentures. Just have your teeth removed and get implants. They surgically embed porcelain in your mouth (I think it's porcelain) by screwing it in your gums. I think having laser reconstruction still beats everything.. though its the most costly.

[Spartiate]

I stopped wearing my retainer after a couple of months of the "once a week" thing. I really hated it and preserving my sanity was worth the minor risk of my teeth shifting back. A few years later and they have shifted an extremely small amount, but nowhere near enough to concern me. I do have this wire behind my bottom teeth that they said to leave for life. I've had to get it clipped twice when the ends detached from the tooth. If it happens again, I'll ask them to take the whole thing off... It would really suck if that thing detached with no dentists nearby.

[Puffin]

Fuck dentures. Just have your teeth removed and get implants. They surgically embed porcelain in your mouth (I think it's porcelain) by screwing it in your gums. I think having laser reconstruction still beats everything.. though its the most costly. I'm getting my gums re-something... Uh... Re-contoured, I think, with a laser in a few months. I don't think that's what you meant by "laser reconstruction", though. I stopped wearing my retainer after a couple of months of the "once a week" thing. I really hated it and preserving my sanity was worth the minor risk of my teeth shifting back. A few years later and they have shifted an extremely small amount, but nowhere near enough to concern me. I do have this wire behind my bottom teeth that they said to leave for life. I've had to get it clipped twice when the ends detached from the tooth. If it happens again, I'll ask them to take the whole thing off... It would really suck if that thing detached with no dentists nearby. I'm guessing you've got a bonded retainer? That's not as bad as constantly having to take one in and out of your mouth for every meal, snack, and brushing. But yeah, it would get annoying if it kept falling off.

[louie54]

I had braces and got them removed at 17 which was about 4 years ago (seems like it was yesterday). I got retainers but I kept forgetting to wear them and my teeth couldn't fit them anymore after some point, so they did shift for me, but not that it concerns me too much. Except if you look real close, this one tooth is slightly crooked. There's probably more that I can't see, but I regret not wearing my retainers. I'm currently in the middle of changing insurance companies so that I can get something along the lines of invisalign (which costs around $7,000). You can always test it for yourself. Skip a day of not wearing them and see how it feels the next night. If it's a bit tight, then I'd definitely recommend wearing them more often, especially within the first couple monhs of getting your braces off.

[Maria92]

I do have this wire behind my bottom teeth that they said to leave for life. I've had to get it clipped twice when the ends detached from the tooth. If it happens again, I'll ask them to take the whole thing off... It would really suck if that thing detached with no dentists nearby. That happened to me. First time, the glue broke off, second time, the metal parts actually snapped. They just removed it and didn't bother getting a new one. My teeth are still just fine. I did have to put up with the flappy wire thing for a couple months, though. It was irritating as piss.

[Puffin]

I had braces and got them removed at 17 which was about 4 years ago (seems like it was yesterday). I got retainers but I kept forgetting to wear them and my teeth couldn't fit them anymore after some point, so they did shift for me, but not that it concerns me too much. Except if you look real close, this one tooth is slightly crooked. There's probably more that I can't see, but I regret not wearing my retainers. I'm currently in the middle of changing insurance companies so that I can get something along the lines of invisalign (which costs around $7,000). You can always test it for yourself. Skip a day of not wearing them and see how it feels the next night. If it's a bit tight, then I'd definitely recommend wearing them more often, especially within the first couple monhs of getting your braces off. I turned 17 in April... I'll take your advice.

[DeletePlease]

Oh yeah... retainers... I got my braces off last year and I was supposed to wear my retainers for 24/7 for 6 months then at night for another 6 months. I wore them for like 3 weeks. My bottom teeth have shifted a bit so I should probably start wearing them asap. Do you guys think the retainers will be able to get them back in place without any hassle? It's one of these things so I'm kind of worried I fucked up and pretty much wasted all that money. As long as it fits (even if just barely), will it gradually start shifting the teeth back in place to the point where I can eventually fit it over my teeth perfectly or would I need to get braces again?

[Puffin]

If all your teeth will fit, I'm positive they'll start to move back. It might hurt like hell at first, but hey, it's just like when you first got your braces. Grin and bear it.

[Maria92]

My back molars hadn't even erupted until last year. My wisdom teeth are very far behind, too. The orthodontist doesn't see them having any effect on my teeth for the next few years. o_O You want to get them before they start coming in (if they have room to do so). Trust me, it's much better to get them out before they start developing. Much less downtime, much easier surgery. I got mine out about your age. If you wait for a few years, they'll grow some bigass gnarly roots and wrap around your jaw bone, which sucks. That happened to my dad in his early 20's.

[nina]

You want to get them before they start coming in (if they have room to do so). Trust me, it's much better to get them out before they start developing. Much less downtime, much easier surgery. I got mine out about your age. If you wait for a few years, they'll grow some bigass gnarly roots and wrap around your jaw bone, which sucks. That happened to my dad in his early 20's. I've been putting it off for years and years. They definitely are starting to shift things around in my mouth, and it gives me terrible headaches quite often. I'll have dental insurance next month though, so I'll take care of it then. I hope my roots aren't wrapped around the nerve for godsake. I hate teeth. I hate dentists. I want implants.