Braces AND Permanent Retainers????

[SushieMaker]

I've had braces for a year now, and I think that I'll be getting them out soon.
The last time I went for my appointment (yesterday) they put permanent retainers on the backsides of my front top and front bottom teeth.
During the same appointment, they also told me to wear an elastic band on just the left side of my jaw.
Reading this forum and other forums, I can't find anyone else who has had braces and permanent retainers at the same time.
Is this normal or is my orthodontist just trying to stretch out the time to get more money? (A few weeks ago one of my braces fell off and he said we didn't even
need to stick it back on because I didn't need it.)
Also, it's incredibly hard to floss my 10 teeth with braces and permanent retainer, and IMPOSSIBLE to floss a few specific teeth when i can't push the superfloss through from under my braces to under my permanent retainer.\
One last thing; I can feel the glue they used to stick my permanent retainers to my teeth with my tongue. Is this feeling gonna last? Because I keep thinking something is stuck in my teeth.

[Niraja]

I don't know much about all this but I can straight away answer your last question. I had the same problem and so did a friend of mine. All you can do is to check yourself in the mirror to see if the glue they used is clotted and stuck to your tooth above and below the retainer where it won't do anything bad by scraping off and then scraping it off. But don't scrape very near the retainer. Brush there regularly. The feeling would remain as all the excess glue clotted around your tooth can not be removed as if you remove it, the retainers may get loose. But after two months or so you will get used to it and will not feel the glue anymore. But remember, you can scrape away only the excess glue clotted above and below retainer. But what I did was just let it be there till I got used to it.

Don't know to answer your other questions. but i don't see why they use elastic band after the treatment. Do you have any dis-positioned teeth? Why won't you ask your ortho why they do so. You have the right to ask it because you are paying them... aren't I right?

[doenen]

The permanent retainers help keep your front teeth together, so I'm guessing that maybe your orthodontist thinks that they will move faster and more evenly with the permanent retainers attached.

The elastics help with movement in a certain direction, so he probably wants your left teeth to move more? Not sure if it's because he made an initial miscalculation or if that really was his plan along (you should ask to be sure!)

Also, yes, you will continue being able to feel the adhesive, but you will get used to it. Bear in mind that even though the adhesive is fairly strong, it can still come undone (like your braces brackets) if you eat a lot of really sticky food (gum, toffee, etc) or anything hard that might cause the adhesive to chip. The good thing about permanent retainers is that it will keep your front teeth from going crooked or drifting apart. What it won't do, though, is keep them from moving forward (if you had tooth extraction) into their original positions if you don't wear your removable retainers

[josie]

Why would they try to 'stretch out the time to make more money'? Didn't you pay an up front fee for the whole treatment? In which case it costs the same however long it takes, and it's in your ortho's best interests to get you treated and out of there asap, so he can fill the space up with a new paying patient…

Can't answer the question about fixed retainers and braces. My braces should be coming out next month and I'll then have fixed retainers top and bottom.

[IHIC]

The last time I went for my appointment (yesterday) they put permanent retainers on the backsides of my front top and front bottom teeth.

Reading this I would say that you should be getting them removed soon (but you should ask your Ortho this question to know for sure), I have heard of some people getting their permanent retainer before the braces are removed but not long before, maybe a week.

All you can do is to check yourself in the mirror to see if the glue they used is clotted and stuck to your tooth above and below the retainer where it won't do anything bad by scraping off and then scraping it off

Personally I wouldn't recommend you try this, you could accidently cause damage to your teeth or even make the retainer loose. If you feel it's irritating you too much, ask your Orthodontist if they can do anything to help.