Hey!

[hazel]

I'm 41, and this is second time around for me. Everything seemed OK first time when I was 13/14 but reading some of the posts on this forum, I now realise how little I knew to ask back then, and how much I wasn't told. I never had a retainer. With the passage of time, my teeth have shifted or drifted or whatever the technical term is. After discussing with my ortho, he advised a removable appliance (plate and wires). I am getting this on 11 December. It would be good to hear from anyone who is going down this path. I need to get it right this time! Thanks.

[michaelY]

no retainers huh. I am also a second time wearer, but because I had no ideas how important the retainer was and i was soo excited to show off my new smile.

lets just say this time I'll be wearing the retainer 24/7

Good luck and your not alone!

[hazel]

Hey MichaelY,

Thanks for your words of encouragement. I have to say that I am more than a little apprehensive about going through this again. I have been told I have to wear the plate 24/7 to get a "flatter look" to my teeth (basically I have a significant overjet), but at the moment I am worrying about how my speech is going to be affected by the plate, and the reaction I may get from other people when I am wearing this appliance (wire across front etc). I have also been told that the same plate can probably act as a retainer after the active treatment. What advice did you get about retainers?

Hazel

[Stephanie]

i wore the plate up top.. at first it gave me a slight speech impediment. But you get used to it. The worse part about it is when eating food can get stuck in between it and the roof of you mouth. Over it is easy and no big deal. Usually it is on and off pretty quick and does a good job.

[hazel]

Thanks Stephanie. I'm hoping I won't have to live with the plate over long, but I've just no idea how long it's going to be before my teeth start moving this time around. Is it really necessary to keep it in whilst eating?

hazel

[Stephanie]

well I thought you meant the palatal expander plate... they have to mount it on your molars so it is not removable.. you may be talking about something different though...

[hazel]

Sorry, yep I can see that could be misleading. What I meant to say is the removable plate (a bit like a retainer, but different in that it moves the teeth) that in my case will hopefully work on a few teeth to pull them back. Does that make any sense?

[Janesays]

yep that makes perfect sense. It works too. I used to work in an ortho office and he would use this procedure often.

[hazel]

Hey Janesays,

That's good to know. My ortho mentioned that he might do a small amount of tooth shaping (basically, removing a very small amount of the enamel) but he wasn't very specific about when or where. I have tried to find out a bit more about this, and what I have read on other sites concerns me just a bit. What I am trying to do is to achieve a "flatter look" (regain the look I had before my teeth started moving). I am not chasing dental perfection at this stage in my life, although I completely respect that for many people this is important. In your time in an ortho's office, did you see much tooth shaping going on, and in what sort of cases? Thanks, Hazel

[mariahfromchicago]

Tooth shaping sounds scary...

[Sunny]

Tooth shaping should be easy for a well trained orthodontist to do and also pain free.

Teeth that have worn badly, due to being misplaced, crossed over, etc, will usually look much better when corrected with minute shaping.

Interproximal reduction (IPR)is another type of enamel reduction. Used to remove small amounts between teeth, when an extraction would be too much. I've had this done between most of my lower front teeth. Pain free and great to allow for straightening and movement that doesn't require a tooth to be extracted.