Anyone have/had a permanent retainer?

[hausmaus]

One of the sides of my top one came loose tonight. I'm going to call around tomorrow to see who can fix it, but am not sure if I should just yank it. I consulted Dr. Google, and there seem to be varying opinions on if they're worth it. I've had mine 15 years and never had a problem until now. Conveniently when I'm without dental insurance

[sookie]

I have one. My dentist offered to remove it because at this point he doesn't think it'll move, but it isn't bothering me so I left it.

[speckledfrog]

MH had one on his bottom teeth and when it popped of the dentist just removed it and did not replace it.

[killercupcake]

I have one on the top and bottom. The glue has worn off of one tooth, and that tooth has shifted already. H's bottom and top retainer fell off and all of his bottom teeth moved, but his top teeth stayed perfect.

I guess it just depends on your mouth. lol I've had braces twice, so I would be a mess without mine.

[pandangie]

Same here, I've had braces twice.  My teeth move as soon as they are "free" lol  I have a pediatric-sized mouth with way too many teeth.  My teeth have managed to move even with a permanent retainer in.  I did have a permanent retainer that broke on one tooth, and I was 200 miles away from the ortho that installed it, so the new ortho removed the whole appliance, which in turn made me buy a new suck down retainer... argh.  My brother has had braces three times... one due to surgery from horrible underbite.  
So, moral of my story?  Keep it, and go to your original ortho for the repair if possible.  And good luck

[grover]

I had this happen last year. I asked my dentist first at a cleaning (but by that time the entire retainer was just fine without me noticing) and he offered to replace. I then called my orthodontist who ended up giving me a cheaper price. Then at the orthodontist appt to replace it he actually offered me a new free set of braces to fix my one tooth. I'll now definitely go back to him if my current permanent retainer ever breaks.

[RoxMonster]

Mar 12, 2015 6:02:34 GMT -5 googled said:

I have one and when I asked my dentist about removing it (it's such a bitch to floss around) he said not to because my teeth still have time to shift. I'm 28.

Mine said pretty much the same thing. I had inquired as to just how permanent this permanent retainer would be. My ortho had said I'd have to keep it until I was 30 (I was 14 at the time, so that sounded like forever!) Well, I am almost 30. My dentist said I should keep it in forever because my teeth can and will move without it.

I will say that I don't have a retainer on my top, and those teeth have started shifting already a little.

[aprilsails]

I had the cement debond from my one crooked bottom tooth but didn't notice because it was still solid to the wire and nothing was wiggly.

I think it took 3 days for the tooth to spin sideways. Granted, this was within 4 or 5 years of having my braces off.

At that point the only option was to put braces back on and I wasn't interested in the slightest. I had them take it off and I live with my one crooked bottom tooth. The reason I had braces, headgear, etc in the first place was to correct misalignment issues on my upper jaw, so as long as I'm ok on top, I don't really care.

[hausmaus]

Mar 12, 2015 0:24:23 GMT -5 pandangie said:

Same here, I've had braces twice.  My teeth move as soon as they are "free" lol  I have a pediatric-sized mouth with way too many teeth.  My teeth have managed to move even with a permanent retainer in.  I did have a permanent retainer that broke on one tooth, and I was 200 miles away from the ortho that installed it, so the new ortho removed the whole appliance, which in turn made me buy a new suck down retainer... argh.  My brother has had braces three times... one due to surgery from horrible underbite.  
So, moral of my story?  Keep it, and go to your original ortho for the repair if possible.  And good luck

My original ortho is now 2,000 miles away. I've called three places here and they are all quoting $300-900 to fix it, because I need a new consult, x-rays,etc. it'd be cheaper to fly back to my old ortho at this rate!

[btay]

I have one and honestly never even thought about having it removed. I'm going to ask at my next appt because I hate trying to floss around it.

[zelda25]

I had one behind my bottom row a million years ago and broke it off biting into a a big chunk of cheese (I like cheese, alright?!). My teeth shifted a tiny bit afterward, but nowhere near enough to require correcting.

[laurental]

I definitely wouldn't just yank it- it is glued on and if you don't know what you are doing it can mess up your teeth. It is also possible that some glue will remain that will need to be filed or buffed off.

I had mine come loose on one end and I went in and they removed it and filed the glue.

[wise_rita]

Don't yank it! Jesus, that sounds like a bad idea.

I have a bottom retainer and one side popped off (while flossing) a month or so ago. I had it for 19-20 years! I refuse to go without because I have to put in my removable top retainer every 6 weeks or so because my teeth start to shift and it hurts. Straight teeth are a lifelong commitment, yo.

The orthodontist just removed the still-attached side and glued the whole thing back on. It would've cost more if they had to make a new bar because they would have had to make an impression and have me come back.

googled & btay I don't find flossing to be a bitch at all. Do you have the little threader things to get the floss through?

[btay]

I have the threaders but my retainer is really close to my gums so there is not a lot of wiggle room