Another retainer question

[Guest guest]

After reading the thread about how often the retainer needs to be

worn after the braces come off I got to wondering.. What kind of

options do I have for retainers?

I know my best bet is to ask my ortho, but I'm not seeing him again

for a few weeks yet, and I plan on bringing it up with him before the

braces come off and retainers are made.

My sister had Invisalign and didn't need surgery (lucky girl!). She

uses her last tray as her upper retainer now and has the wire

cemented to the back of her lower teeth, and it's nearly invisible.

Are there retainers out there that are like the Invisalign trays? Or

will I be stuck with the traditional retainer with the wire over my

teeth and the thick plastic on the roof of my mouth that will impair

my speech until I get used to it? After almost 2 years with braces,

I'd really like the less visible option when they finally come off.

Thanks!!

Jen

[Guest guest]

> " Are there retainers out there that are like the Invisalign trays? "

Yessm. That's what I have. And nobody can see them, really not that I

care so much about that.

My ortho says the're particularly good at holding rotations. I find

them a little hard to talk around, and I've developed a rough edge on

them that sometimes drives my tongue nuts. But hey -- after almost

two years of braces and surgery, who cares? As I told someone the

other day, " Compared to that hardware store he had in my mouth, these

are nothing at all! "

Some folks still do get Hawleys, and I imagine docs have their

reasons for choosing whatever they do. Doesn't hurt to ask, but I was

never asked to make a choice. He just handed me what he thought I

needed. Good enough for me.

And some docs prefer the bonded wires.

There are also positioners. From what I've heard about these, if

you're given a choice of staying in the braces a bit longer, or

having them off and getting a positioner, you probably want to stay

in the braces. I can't think of anybody who liked one -- although my

ortho's tech said " We get really good results with those, when

patients can tolerate them. "

And there are probably other gadgets and gizwhillies, as well. But

these are the ones I've heard of.

Cammie

> After reading the thread about how often the retainer needs to be

> worn after the braces come off I got to wondering.. What kind of

> options do I have for retainers?

>

> I know my best bet is to ask my ortho, but I'm not seeing him again

> for a few weeks yet, and I plan on bringing it up with him before

the

> braces come off and retainers are made.

>

> My sister had Invisalign and didn't need surgery (lucky girl!).

She

> uses her last tray as her upper retainer now and has the wire

> cemented to the back of her lower teeth, and it's nearly invisible.

>

Or

> will I be stuck with the traditional retainer with the wire over my

> teeth and the thick plastic on the roof of my mouth that will

impair

> my speech until I get used to it? After almost 2 years with

braces,

> I'd really like the less visible option when they finally come

off.

>

> Thanks!!

> Jen