Help! Retainers question

[wlq88]

Hey guys, here's my situation...

I've removed my braces in Oct 2007, and initially i wore my braces everyday, only removing them for meals, and then progressed to wearing them everynight, and to a couple of nights a week...and that's where i started to get lazy >.<...i often forget to wear them ( i know, i know, totally my bad!)...it turrned into something like, wearing them a few times a month, to once a month...and now i've gone on my longest period of not wearing them, which is maybe 3 months (!!!)...
i've noticed my lateral incisor has moved back a bit, and my lower teeth are moving slightly as well in relation to the position of the upper teeth...yesterday, i decided to wear my retainers again, and i had to use some force to push them in. Once they got in, let me tell you, it was freaking painful! i guess my teeth shifted more than i noticed >.<
Nevertheless, i got it in, and now i'm bearing the pain (which is sort of similar to the pain of wearing braces)..

my question is, is it wrong of me to "force" my retainers in? one side of my gums near my right mandibular molars is red and inflammed from the pressure, and certain teeth hurt, but i suppose that's to be expected...but will this hopefully push my teeth back to the "post-braces alignment"? or am i only making things worse?
right now, i'm wearing my retainers full-time. When i remove them to brush or to eat, they hurt (as i said before, like when wearing braces) and when i put the retainers back in, freaking painful, but the pain subsides a bit eventually.

Help, should i wear my retainers full-time till they stop hurting (indicating my teeth have moved back to straight alignment), or maybe only wear my retainers for a duration of time everyday?
Please help me, i don't want to make my teeth worse >.<

Thanks!

[Sunny]

Hi wlq

I respect that you realise you've not done the best for your teeth ... it's good when the clients we work with do accept responsibility and work to make things right.

It's never good to force teeth to move quickly, as that's when the roots of the teeth and your gums are most affected. Hopefully with the gap only being three months and your teeth haven't been forced too much and with continued retainer wear for a few months, followed by every night ... all will be good again.

I would recommend you contact your ortho's office and tell them what's happened and seek their advice. They may be happy for you to continue doing what you're doing, or they may wish to do a check to make sure that everything will progress back to how it should be.

Good luck ... and good luck with lifetime retainer wear!

[wlq88]

Thanks for the advice =) yea, i was planning to contact my dentist soon too..
hope things go back to normal!
Take care =)

[mommamorin]

do you still have some of your old last trays? my dentist told me to save them..just in case although you waited so long perhaps your teeth shifted differently. It will be interesting on what he/she says, please keep us updated as this will be a good lesson learned and perhaps will deter others from doing what you did as well.

[wlq88]

i had the conventional braces, with the brackets and wire, etc. Didn't use invisalign, so i don't have any old trays.
Ok, will do! I hope my case will be an example of "what not to do" to other members as well =)

[Sunny]

wlq your post is a great reminder!

I don't know why so many people think that teeth can be moved ... and in maybe 18-36 months they're were they need to be ... and for some amazing reason they'll just stay there ... even though this is not where they usually were in your mouth.

I guess orthodontics hasn't yet got the explanation right, about how teeth move for life, and will only stay where they got to after ortho treatment, for as long as they're retained there, for some part of every week for your life.

It's funny how we know that hair that's tired back, won't stay like that, even after years of tying it back ... as soon as you don't use a tie ... it comes forward etc. Our bodies just aren't designed that way.

Good luck when you see your dentist/ortho!

[wlq88]

@Sunny

Lol, u know what's the funny thing? I'm actually a 1st year dental student, and look at me, neglecting my retainer wear >.< I feel really ashamed at myself...*runs to corner and hide*

[wlq88]

Hi all~
Just a little update on what's happening with my whole retainers issue...
Called my ortho, he's away at a conference and wont be back till the 3rd of Nov >.< Hopefully i can secure an appointment with him asap when he's back..
However, going to see another dentist tmr for scaling, as i feel my the health of my gums have declined since full-time retainer wear, and my gums are starting to look swollen and red =(
Had to remove my lower retainer as the excessive pressure on my gums caused an ulcer, which bleeds everytime the retainer is put on =(
Upper retainer fits fine, and not much problem there. Not much pain as well, just a little pressure.
Will continue to update on my situation ^^

Take care all!