What type of retainer does your kid have?

[eddy]

Short version- our orthodontist prescribes the metal version of a retainer after braces come off. My son hates it. Has hated it for 6 weeks. He does very well with the plastic retainer though. Everyone we have talked to is surprised that the metal retainer is even a thing anymore as their kids were given the Essix retainer. He has a terrible lisp with it in. He is uncomfortable. 

I am trying to get a sense if the metal retainer is something that is even given out broadly anymore or have most orthodontists moved onto the plastic version. We are pretty certain we are going to sign the paperwork saying we are going against her recommendation and will have him wear the plastic one. He is very good at wearing it and I think long term he will have better adherence to wearing.

The reasons we were given on why she prefers metal is that they are long lasting. We are fine with having to replace the plastic version.

I just want to know what others have used with their kids (or yourself if you have had braces recently.)

[orval]

My ds has the plastic invsalign looking retainer. He broke one at about 6 months post braces. It was about $150 to replace. The second one he has had for about 1.5 years. He only wears it at night now after the first few months.

[esdreturns]

Sept 19, 2022 10:06:51 GMT -5 orval said:

My ds has the plastic invsalign looking retainer. He broke one at about 6 months post braces. It was about $150 to replace. The second one he has had for about 1.5 years. He only wears it at night now after the first few months.

This is what my DS has as well. The ortho practice he went to (and my younger DS is currently going to) doesn't use the metal ones.

[eddy]

I guess when we started this journey we should have asked what retainers were going to look like lol. We were very surprised to get to this point and have him come out with an old school retainer that I remember from the 80s. That was our mistake for not asking questions earlier. Especially with covid restrictions we missed out on some key conversations.

[liverandonions]

3D printed plastic retainer, like the invisalign ones

[Susie]

Following Invisalign as an adult (2018-19), I had a permanent wire on the bottom, and a plastic top retainer, that was basically like a final Invisalign tray to try to coax just a little more movement from my top canines.  

The wire broke in spring 2020, and they made me a plastic bottom retainer then.  It's thicker than the Invisalign retainer, but it does the job.  I only wear them at night.

[thebreakfastclub]

My son wears a plastic one at night. We bring it to each appointment and they sometimes snip parts to make it more comfortable.

[luckystar2]

I still wear a retainer because my teeth always shifted soooo easily. And I grind my teeth at night so I find the retainer helpful. I’d been wearing my super old metal one still. My daughter would make fun of it because she had never seen one before. She said all of the people she knows who have retainers are the plastic ones.

I will say the metal one does hold up! It was very old. I did need to replace it last year but that’s cause it fell and got squished by something. My current dentist also does orthodontics and they set me up with the Invisalign plastic retainer. It was about $600 for 4 sets. It’s been 9 months of wearing them at night and they are fine. I assume one set should last me well over a year. So 4 sets should last me quite a while. If you’re fine with the cost and potential need to replace seems like it would be ok to do the plastic ones.

[eddy]

Also I should add wearing the metal one at night would be NBD, but she wants him to wear it during the day for a year. That is our issue. The way it impacts his speech is pretty miserable for him. He tried to give it the old college try and it just didn't get better.

Thank you to everyone for responding!

[devonpow]

Well he did invisalign instead of metal braces to begin with, so his retainer is plastic/invisalign

[beerlover]

I did Invisalign and I have a plastic Essix retainer that I think my orthodontist office made in-office, it's not Invisalign brand. It's been fine; I just wear it at night and I have not had any movement. I think you'd want your kid to wear the retainer that's most comfortable for him and that he'll be the most likely to wear full-time (or however many hours needed).

[sometimesrunner]

I had invisalign and I have permanent retainers on the top and bottom. They've been in 10+ years with no issues.

[tripleshot]

DS has permanent retainers on the tongue side in both the top and bottom. It’s part plastic with a metal wire. He also has a plastic one for just the top he wears at night. He’s broken it a pole times and its $100 to replace. His permanent retainer is broke according to the dentist who just cleaned his teeth so I need to make an appt with the ortho to get a new one. I’m sure it’ll be $200+.

[alicethellama]

Plastic was out only choice. DS’s is about 3 years old and it’s now cracked in several places and we need to replace it. Ortho said it would be $220 for replacement. He’s careful with it, but I think how thin the plastic it is that breakage is inevitable. I do with they could make them out of a sturdier plastic, it seems so brittle.

[MDmomof2]

I had never heard of a plastic retainer. My kids both have metal retainers. DD is 14 and done with orthodontia and DS is 11 and in between phases.

[wambam]

I initially had an Invisalign-type one but they gave me a wire one because my teeth were moving too much. I had that thing for 21 years! They removed my bottom permanent retainer last year because most of the cement had worn away anyways and made me two new wire ones (they called them Hawley retainers).

[lilac05]

I have both. Clear plastic on top and metal on the bottom.

If I remember correctly, he wanted to do the metal on the bottom because my teeth so desperately want to move on the bottom. (This was my third time having braces.) Even now, when I go to put my retainers back in at night, I can tell my teeth have shifted a tiny bit during the day, and I haven’t missed a single night of wearing them in 2 years.

[Wallflower]

I don't have kids but I'm coming in as someone who had a retainer that was INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. I barely used it and my teeth have shifted. So, I vote for the plastic one, 100%.

[chedifuen]

I'm probably being dumb but by metal do you mean the band that goes over their teeth? If so, my kid has one of those. I've never seen a child around here in an invisalign type retainer, I didn't even know that was an option.

[eddy]

For all of you that answered metal retainers, do you or your child wear it during the day? That is the crux of our issue. Night time wearing, NBD. She wants him to wear it during the day for a year and that is the part he really struggles with. The Invisalign one is comfortable during the day. We though we could just have him wear invisilign during the day and metal at night but apparently you need to pick one or the other.



MDmomof2, chedifuen, lilac05,

[MDmomof2]

Sept 20, 2022 10:35:09 GMT -5 eddy said:

For all of you that answered metal retainers, do you or your child wear it during the day? That is the crux of our issue. Night time wearing, NBD. She wants him to wear it during the day for a year and that is the part he really struggles with. The Invisalign one is comfortable during the day. We though we could just have him wear invisilign during the day and metal at night but apparently you need to pick one or the other.



MDmomof2 , chedifuen , lilac05 ,

My kids only had to wear their retainer full time for 2 weeks, then at night only.  I was relieved my kids only had to wear them at school for 2 weeks because I remember losing a retainer or two at school lunch!  They couldn't talk much with it in, but for 2 weeks it wasn't a big deal. I would not want my kid to be uncomfortable all day every day because of a retainer!

[lilac05]

Sept 20, 2022 10:35:09 GMT -5 eddy said:

For all of you that answered metal retainers, do you or your child wear it during the day? That is the crux of our issue. Night time wearing, NBD. She wants him to wear it during the day for a year and that is the part he really struggles with. The Invisalign one is comfortable during the day. We though we could just have him wear invisilign during the day and metal at night but apparently you need to pick one or the other.



MDmomof2, chedifuen, lilac05,

I think I had to wear it during the day for the first 6 months or so. It never bothered me (other than having to take it out to eat, which you have to do regardless). The bottom retainer has essentially no impact on speech clarity.

Maybe rather than doing Day/night switch, he could do a top/bottom combo like I have. Then he doesn’t have the metal wire or the large palate piece on top, but he can still have the stronger retainer option on the bottom (which are generally the more problematic ones for moving again). The wire is still there, obviously, but for most people, you really don’t see the bottom wire because the lower lip is always covering it.

[lust2hart]

I wonder why you have to pick one or the other. If they are molds of the same set of teeth, I don't see why he couldn't alternate. ? I had braces in the mid-90s and ended up with a permanent wire that spans the inside of my bottom front teeth. I had a plastic retainer for my top teeth.

[MixedBerryJam]

If the retainer isn’t comfortable he’s not going to wear it. Full stop. That’s reason enough to go with plastic. Signed, person who didn’t wear my retainer and regret it. I’m still thinking about doing Invisalign in the next year or so. (Oddly they are all the rage here with the old folks.)

[lilac05]

Sept 20, 2022 11:24:21 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

If the retainer isn’t comfortable he’s not going to wear it. Full stop. That’s reason enough to go with plastic. Signed, person who didn’t wear my retainer and regret it. I’m still thinking about doing Invisalign in the next year or so. (Oddly they are all the rage here with the old folks.)

Yep! The best retainer is one that you will wear consistently.

[jillybean222]

Plastic. I bought two sets - one was included and the the extra set cost about 200 bucks.

[eddy]

Thank you everyone!

We have had a great working relationship with our orthodontist and she was extra grouchy with us yesterday on this topic at his 6 week check up. She just kept pushing my son to see if he really had "tried" with the metal retainer. But also couldn't give us a medical reason why she felt so passionately that he stick with this one. IDK, maybe it was a case of the Mondays. She can be pretty abrupt and this is the first time we have gently challenged her through the whole process. 

I just needed to know how much I should advocate and dig my heels in on this topic. You all have helped me understand that my concerns are valid and we will stick with the plastic retainer. I just hope she isn't a huge PITA when we need to replace. I don't have an issue with paying. I just don't want to get the business when we have to go in.

[wanderingback]

Well I agree with her about longevity! I’ve had the same retainer since I was about 12 years old and I’m getting closer to 40. I clean it and I keep asking my dentist if I need to replace it but they say there’s no need if it still fits fine. I wear it a few time per week.

But if he’s uncomfortable then he should def get a retainer that is comfortable and he’ll wear.

[sent]

As a mom, I'd try just wearing it at home and at night and tell the doctor you are wearing it all the time.

As a doctor, I'd tell you that telling patients especially school aged kids to wear it 24/7 is old school. I don't tell patients to take their retainers to school because they lose them. Some doctors start with only night time wear from day 1. Hawley retainers typically do last longer but that's usually not a factor in our decision of which one to use. We usually prescribe the essix retainers. We prescribe Hawleys when we need the bite to fit a certain way after the braces come off.

[cville]

One she won't fucking wear regularly so I've told her next round of orthodontia is coming out of her college fund.