Retainer for lifetime?!?!

[waguy]

I have a few questions.

It seems absolutely ridiculous that a retainer would have to be worn for the rest of your life after braces. The hassle of having to wear it beyond a year or so after braces removal almost defeats the point in having braces!

1) For the majority of people, is it recommended to wear 'for the rest of your life' only at night, or are people meant to wear them during the day 'for the rest of their life' as well? If it is during the day as well then as the ESSIX retainers are still noticeable it totally defeats the purpose of the braces! I suppose at night isn't too bad, but still a bit of a pain.

2) I have a BBQ with my friends once a week. On this day we will drink beers and eat intermittently throughout the day. It would be impossible to brush/wear the retainer between the eating and drinking, I'd spend more time in the bathroom than at the BBQ! If it lasts for 6-8 hours then will this cause my teeth to move much? If I put the retainer back in afterwards (for the night) will it correct any movement that happened during the day?

3) I had braces on for only 6 months to straighten the front two bottom teeth. For this timeframe, not that much movement compared to some people, how long would I expect to wear the retainer for full-time (day and night)?

I ask because in work I like to drink tea/coffee, a few times a day so wearing the retainer will be seriously inconvenient as I will be back and for the bathroom after every cup!

I have to say, I was not made aware of the deal with these retainer before getting braces. It wasn't brought up and I suppose I assumed that I'd just have to wear the retainer for 6 months or so and then that's it. Had I known what I do now I'd seriously reconsider, especially after all this hassle and the prospect of ongoing hassle for the rest of my life! ... Not to mention the $2000 it cost for the braces etc.

I'd appreciate any answers/comments.

[coconut]

It's not ridiculous to commit to lifetime retainer wear, unless you'd prefer your teeth to drift to a sub-optimal position, in which case you would have wasted time and effort (and money) on treatment.

Discuss with your ortho what your retainer wear will be post braces and how you can best manage your eating and drinking needs. Be flexible about what this may involve, because it could mean modification to some of your "habits" for a short period of time. This will hardly be an imposition on your lifestyle, and particuilarly when you consider the alternative i.e. not wearing retainers as instructed and the risk of your teeth shifting. There are that many people, including on this board, who are in braces a second time because they failed to comply with instructions for retainer wear - by their own admission.

And for what it's worth, retainer wear is not a hassle. For me it's now a twice a week routine (nights only).

And $2K for treatment sounds like a very good deal.

[IHIC]

1) For the majority of people, is it recommended to wear 'for the rest of your life' only at night, or are people meant to wear them during the day 'for the rest of their life' as well?

I personally have never heard of anyone needing to wear their retainers all day for life. I have heard that they have to wear them '24/7' for the first few months or first year, then it's nightly and so forth until eventually it's about two nights a week like Coconut.