Retainers

I bought/invested in retainers.  They're called Hawley Retainers.  You might know them as the old-fashioned retainers.

I didn't feel paying $100 every 6 months to replace my Candid retainer was beneficial in several ways:

• financially it didn't make sense to me
• having that much plastic in my mouth at night was the reason I was clenching my teeth
• they became inconvenient to clean (the Smile Direct cleaning gadget started getting quirky and it was taking me 20 minutes or more to clean them)

There were advantages:

• my teeth stayed clean overnight
• my teeth didn't shift

I decided to look into permanent retainers.  But they only cover the front 4 to 6 teeth.  And with teeth pushing from the back to front, that didn't make sense to me.  Also, the orthodontist said that because the left side of my teeth don't touch and I have a slightly crooked tooth on the bottom front, permanent retainers wouldn't be beneficial to me.

So we talked about Hawley Retainers.  He said there was even a chance they would close that side gap.  And for some of his patients they've lasted as long as 20 years.  So for $640 or so, I got myself some retainers.  And I love them!  I use Retainer Brite, put both pieces into the cup for 14 minutes and TADA! they're clean.

I don't clench my jaw at night any more.  I also don't have extra skin behind my lower, front jaw.

I go back in a few weeks for any possible minor adjustments.  And they also recommend I see them every 2 years to check the wires.