on retainer
tommy's sister beth posts on the trials and tribulations of her retainer and subsequent visits to her orthodontist, which makes me want to ask gross retainer advice of the internet. who doesn't have that feeling from time to time?
anyway, my orthdontist owned my soul for nearly six years - yes, i had braces from fifth to nearly tenth grade, and there was fun stuff before and after that - teeth pullings, TMJ issues, all the basic hilarity. apparently i have an incredibly small mouth, so all my teeth were majorly effed up. i still have nightmares about rubber bands and metal palette expanders that my mother had insert a key into every day to, you know, expand my mouth. when i was let loose from his shiny metal grip, i was given a set of retainers that was plastic and served me well for a couple of years. i took care of them; they took care of me. my tiny teeth in my tiny mouth stayed beautifully straight.
of course, then came college, and boyfriends, and drinking. the combination of all three proved deadly for my teeth - i sure as hell wasn't going to stick in my retainer when i a) was drunk off my head b) was staying the night at my new boyfriend's that i was eager to impress and i certainly wasn't going to whip out my geeky retainer. and so, the retainer, it languished in its sad little bright pink case. where...it got kind of gross. i don't know what happened to it. i don't think it was mold. it was...something. tooth fairy dust. yes, that's it! or residual plaque and nastiness? maybe more likely.
anyway i still wore my retainer once in a while, but i can no longer ignore the fact that my bottom row of teeth are getting scarily more crooked. soon i will be back to the situation where two of my teeth actcually lived behind the rest of them. so i'm wearing my retainer pretty regularly. but it is the nast. and i am repulsed every time i put it in. as i well should be. does anybody have any suggestions that don't involve me going to a new orthodontist and getting an expensive new retainer made? perhaps voodoo magic? seducing a rogue dentist? anything? because i'm getting concerned my retainer will soon grow legs and walk away.
Comments
You could clean it.
Hey Catherine, i remember you mentioned once you liked Muse like 8 years ago, I don't know if you still dig them but this video is so awesome I'm peeing down my leg
One time, my braces (yes, I have three, on my back right-hand side molars, doing stuff that needs to be done) started to feel a little icky. Not skunky and walking-out-of-my-mouth gross. But just not...right.
I decided to rinse. With Hydrogen Peroxide. (No, not diluted. Oops.)
Dear god, the pain. But it worked! Try it (while it's not in your mouth, obviously).
oh believe me, i've tried cleaning it. i've even taken it in to different dentists to have them work their magic on it, and they've always returned it slightly bewildered.
gosh, jon, i can't see why you of all people would like that video. totally unfathomable! but it is actually quite awesome. i like the song too. i liked muse back in college but lost track of them - but this song is pretty good.
alright, i have to reinforce my opinion. that muse video is actually the awesomest thing ever. you all must watch it.
I'm having somewhat similar woes. I wore the plastic guys for years, with less and less regularity, but they kept my teeth straight and kept headaches at bay. Then I got a kitten, who hid them. Hid them so well I haven't been able to find them for a year. I inquired about a new one, and was told that now I'd need a whole new realignment and whatnot. Current state: hiding in a corner trying to not spend thousands of dollars at the orthodontist. I'm hoping the whole Lauren Hutton gap tooth look works for me.
denture cleaner is the secret
I used to use those denture tablets (efferdent maybe?). They worked wonders but it sounds like you might be past the point of no return.
sadly i think i am. i'm not sure i've tried the denture tablets before, though, so i may have to give those a go. man, i'm like at walmart every week buying aleve for my joint pain, why not add some denture tablets in there for fun. i'm 500 years old.
So, same thing happened to me; post braces the retainer was ignored and gaps reappeared, and retainer became lost and/or populated by anthrax. Here's what you do:
Go to an orthodontist (no avoiding this, I'm afraid), and have him make you a crash course type retainer that will hurt, but get those suckers lined back up. It will take, like three months. Then, get ortho to give you permanent retainers. They're like small braces they glue on the back of your teeth. No pain, teeth never move, and you don't have to worry about ant colonies laying their eggs on the retainers while you get drunk and/or make out with Tommy.
Same here too... had the whole orthodontic treatment back in the day... top and bottom braces, rubber bands, and yes, the dreaded headgear (thankfully that was only at nighttime during 6th-7th grade - btw, that device became the nastiest dental appliance out of all the orthodontics employed in my mouth)... had the top retainer up until freshman year of college and it's been missing ever since (btw, I remembered I tried cleaning it in boiling water one time, didn't do anything of course)... flash forward a few years later and I'm definitely noticing a slight gap so looks like I'll have to visit an orthodontist as well
I say ignore the retainer. That's what I did. Haggard is the new hott.
Ok, so this is kind of crazy DIY orthodontics but if you are really trying to avoid a professional...
After I stopped wearing my retainer in college and it began growing shit, my own Hutton-esque space reappeared, and I was NOT going back to Dr. Paininjektor for a new retainer. So, I bought some of those teenytiny rubberbands that I would use in 9th grade when I thought white girls looked really cute with teenytiny braids all over their head (think Dexter Holland, Offspring, circa 1994. And yes. I really did.) and bound my teeth with them every night while I slept. Soon, my top four teeth found their way back to where the orthodontist had placed them and I was smiling pretty. You would definitely have to experiment with placement and tension with the bands, but it has worked before. Perhaps I have missed my calling... How long would it take to become an orthodontist? I wonder...
Note: I did eventually get a permanent retainer and find it to be a much better long-term solution than little rubberbands.
I too have the permanent retainer on the back of my front teeth--am hoping this is the answer to my snaggle tooth. Also, if you do follow Ryan's advice and are looking for a Dr (in nova) i LOVE mine (hes got simpsons cutouts on the wall and playstation in the back room where you get treated in addition to a great selection of bad celebrity rags and foodie mags--whats not to love!) plus he takes most major insurance so lemme know if you want his name.
For questions about your braces or retainer.
You can send me an e-mail.
Greetins
orthohelp@hotmail.com
For questions about your braces or retainer.
You can send me an e-mail.
Greetins
orthohelp@hotmail.com
For questions about your braces or retainer.
You can send me an e-mail.
Greetins
orthohelp@hotmail.com
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