My Dentist Woes

Well, it looks like I've survived all of the cavity fills but it looks like I'll be spending more time at the Dentist.

My Dentist now says that I need to have a retainer for my top teeth! I'll feel like a teenager once again! I'm not looking forward to having this foriegn object in my mouth. Jeesh, I'm almost 26 years old and now all of a sudden I've got to wear one of those. The Doc says that my one of my front teeth will have some major problems later on if I don't correct it now. The tooth sticks out quite a bit further than the others (and I've always wanted it fixed....just didn't think I'd have to do it this way). Maybe I'll eventually have a beautiful smile after all!

Anyone else have or had retainers? What is it like? Just curious!
Thank you!

((SLAPPING MYSELF ON THE HAND))

be good!!

Lizza, You crack me up!

ROFL, that reply was just too much!

Sorry, no advice for ya though. I've never had a retainer or braces. I'm sure it'll be fine though, and just think what a gorgeous smile you'll have when its all over with!

I have never had one either ,but I have heard of the one that is clear,so maybe it won't be that bad!

I just searched the web and didn't find too much about it. The Doc didn't say which kind I'll be getting, but he did make the comment "You have to come in every so often, so we can tighten them up". So, I'm assuming I'll get the metal ones, but it would be nice if they were clear. If they were the clear ones, I don't know how they would tighten them up without making new retainers each time.
This is all new to me! I wish I could have asked some questions, but since he just finished filling 3 cavities I couldn't talk very well. Plus, he somehow managed to hit my tongue in the process of deadening my tooth..so my tongue was completely dead! If that wasn't a joy to try to talk with a DEAD tongue!

no candy!!!!! you might bite your tonuge!

After my braces came off I was 'suppose' to wear one, but I found it to cumbersome, and would slip in my mouth, so I just stopped wearing it altogether. Plus, I always had that fear of making out and it would in up in his mouth

Good luck with yours though!!!

Luckily, the deadening has now come out! It was kind of interesting to try to eat dinner tonight!

BTW, by the looks of those cavities I had...NO MORE CANDY FOR MICHELLE!

My daughters retainer was a little thin wire that was attached to a plate that goes up into the roof of your mouth, it was a clear pink color. She didnt have to wear it all the time and it really didnt look that bad either. They made molds of her mouth to make the retainer.

I never had to wear a retainer, but my older sister had to wear a bionater(sp?) and then she had braces, but after the braces were taken off, she had to wear a retainer for a while afterwards....Her teeth were very very bucked, but wearing these corrected them tremendously.....I am sure you will look cute with it in....what is funny is almost everyone I knew either had a retainer or had braces, and I just wanted them so I could be like everyone else...

I had to wear a retainer for a little while, and it was just as Malynn described. It wasn't uncomfortable. You just pop it in or out to eat or whatever. I think it made me lisp a little until I got used to it, because it basically lowers the roof of your mouth a bit.

But it's nothing like braces! A retainer is a thousand percent better than braces!!!!

Good luck!

(Glad you survived the cavities!)

Thanks Guys!
The Dentist said he'd call me sometime next week when they are finished and the soonest I'll be able to pick them up will be on the 20th. My insurance will only pay if you use a Dentist who is a provider. Unfortunately there aren't any Dentist on my insurance plan in my town, so I have to travel 60 miles round trip to visit my Dentist. I really hope I don't have see him too often!
I'll let ya'll know what happens with my new wonderful and oh-so-stylish retainers! *lol*

I had braces, retainers and head gear- yuck. The least of those evils was the retainer. Now from what I understand they don't make them of wire but more of a clear material that you can't even see from a distance. It's not a big deal, you just have to take it out when you eat and stuff.

No braces, etc. here but, Mark had to have a palate spreader. THAT was fun. One a week, I had to use a little key and ratchet it a litle wider. I was always afraid that I'd lose the key - it was THAT tiny!

OMG! That sounds painful! I bet you had to hold that kid down with everything you've got just to do that!

I had to wear a spacer, then braces w/ the awfule headgear, and then retainers (both top & bottom). Oh, and I had to wear the rubber bands with the braces, too! I remember a few months after they took my braces off, I had to get a few back on because my teeth had shifted! It was only for a few months, though.
The retainers I wore for about a year, but after that, I quit going because they would never tell me when I had to quit wearing them!