need some opinions on what retainer to choose

[dan7123]

hello I have had metal spacer in my mouth for about 6 months followed by wearing braces for 1 year and then a retainer for 1 more year.( When i was younger I never wore the retainer). Now I'v had to wear my braces for 3 more years. I'm now 3 months past my due date. My ortho keeps making me wear the rubber bands. they told me that my braces should be coming off in about 3 weeks(yay!). I have been wearing metal in my mouth for my whole teenage years. I'm about to turn 17 soon as well. I'm simply tired of wearing the hawley retainers and braces. My breath always smells every so often and its very hard for me. I'm entering my senior year in high school and I was just thinking about getting a clear retainer. my ortho puts in a permanent retainer on the bottom of my teeth and a howley on the top.

can anyone give me some opinions on the clear retainer. as I'm just sick of all the other kinds.

[Phantom Muse]

I have bonded on both arches, and I love them and they work so well!

I was an Invisalign patient, so I am intimately aware of the pros and cons of the clear retainers. I like them, but they didn't work so well for me (my teeth shifted when I would go without them for a few hours). I now wear them only when I sleep, so all is fine. The clear retainers cannot be worn unless your teeth have been fully brushed after eating, so if you need to wear them during the daytime, you'll have to take care of cleaning before popping them back in. That alone can be a drag, but if full-time wear is temporary, you should be able to manage it.

If you are only 17, your results may be more stable (they have been for my daughter who is 16), but you'll still need to wear your retainers forever! If you get bonded retainers, you'll still need clear ones to wear at night to be certain the unbonded back teeth don't shift and push on your aligned front teeth.

So, my vote is for bonded on both arches with removable clear ones to wear at night only. However, your ortho really is the best one with whom to have a heart-to-heart conversation about your expectations and desires.

[ports]

The bonded ones sound nice. My ortho recommended them. But they don't extend to the molars. So those can still move and cause trouble. The other thing is, you always have to use a floss threader with the bonded retainer. And I really don't want to do that.

[coconut]

I'd go with your ortho's recommendation as to what is best for your case. If that turns out to be a combination of bonded and clear retainers, then that's great.

I have bonded and clear retainers, and am on 1-2 nights a week wear with the clear retainer now. There is a little more maintenance with the bonded retainers, but it's not onerous. While floss threaders are great to use with bonded retainers, you can also use ordinary floss. My dentist suggested using a small proxy brush so that's what I do now.