Retainers

This post is a bit late as my last orthodontic appointment was way back before my holiday. Basically I had been wearing my plastic retainers on my teeth pretty much full-time even though it was past the period that I needed to. I kept wearing them as much as possible as a) I was used to them and didn't mind wearing them and b) I thought I was doing a good thing and that my teeth would be less likely to go back to the way they were. Apparently I was wrong, my orthodontist was surprised that I had been wearing them that much, I think most of his patients probably don't wear their retainers enough and he told me to just wear them at night and then just wear them every other night after a period. One of the things he said was that wearing the retainers too much after the initial period might make you more at risk of plaque/tooth decay.

That's all fine and dandy and I would rather wear my plastic retainers a few nights a week rather than get a permanent retainer. Permanent retainers may be easier letting you have one procedure to put them in and just having to be a bit more careful to clean your teeth but my mouth is small enough as it is with my recessed lower jaw I don't think I would manage with something stuck behind my teeth especially if I knew it was staying there and not going to be removed in the future like my braces. That said wearing the retainers only every other night means that I'm not used to them and they are uncomfortable but like most things you soon forget about them after a while on the computer or reading a book and a little discomfort is worth it if it means my teeth stay straight.

These are the types of plastic retainers that I wear

Thanks for reading.