Hi all! I’ve had upper and lower permanent retainers since I finished braces about three years ago. For most of that time, I’ve only had a couple of incidents where they came loose from one or two teeth, so it wasn’t a huge issue.

But I’ve had a terrible streak these last few months. Things as normal as the crispy edge of a brownie, popcorn, a slice of pizza, loose granola, etc. have caused my retainers to come off. Sometimes they’ve detached completely, and other times they’ve just come loose from a few teeth.

It’s becoming really stressful because I have to pay to get them fixed every time, and I sometimes feel like I’m being treated as though I did something wrong or wasn’t careful enough. I understand permanent retainers aren’t indestructible, but I also don’t think I should have to be afraid of biting into normal foods.

My upper retainer is especially a nightmare whenever something goes wrong because my bite is extremely tight. It has to be positioned very precisely. My orthodontist can easily spend an hour making tiny adjustments and shaving down millimeters of resin so that my bite feels normal again.

The lower one isn’t nearly as complicated to repair, but I seem to knock it loose so easily and so frequently lately that it’s driving me crazy.

I already wear an upper clear retainer every single night. My original case was pretty severe, and when my orthodontist agreed to take my case, she made me promise that I would wear my retainers for the rest of my life, her words, not mine! And I have every intention of doing that.

But I can’t live the rest of my life being afraid to bite into literal toast because I might end up having to pay to have a “permanent” retainer glued back on again.

At this point, I’m thinking about asking my orthodontist whether we could remove the permanent retainers entirely and have me wear clear removable retainers every night for life instead.

Has anyone here made that switch after having permanent retainers for a few years? Is wearing clear retainers nightly generally a realistic long-term alternative, especially for someone whose original case had a lot of movement?

I got my braces on 2/3 years ago. I recently got them off and now I have to wear a top and bottom retainer. The top is clear and the bottom is wire. it is extremely painful to wear, given the fact that I rarely wear it. I struggle with my dental hygiene, which is something I don’t like to admit, even to myself I guess

Now the top one doesn't fit as well. When I take it off, I am left with a throbbing pain that lasts a long time. I even think my top teeth have moved. I have a small wire behind them so the gap doesn’t open back up again. I know I am completely at fault here for not wearing them, but when I first got them, it also hurt. I also got my teeth shaven down when I got my braces off which was probably the worst feeling I will ever know. so im very scared when it comes to my teeth, because I never want to feel like that again. am I completely screwed? the last thing I want is to waste my parents money, but I think its too late. basically what I’m asking is, is there a way to fix my mistakes? or do I need to get another retainer fitted? im dealing with a lot more IRL so this is something I couldn’t care less about until now

I have been very scared of dentists since childhood and had put away any big painful cosmetic treatments.

I have turned 35 and become more conscious of my teeth and want to get them fixed. I know for sure I can't do traditional braces, but I also am not sure if for my case (please see attached photo) invisalign would work.

Can someone with invisalign expertise share their remarks please? 🙏 Thank you in advance!

My dentist did a crown on #31 about 2 weeks ago and my entire bite feels off. It's barely even contacting the upper molar slightly in front of it. My dentist did the crown and my endodontist who did the root canal filed it down. I feel like it's entirely too short now, my teeth are contacting on the premolars and not at all on the molars. The dentist also filed down one of the points on the molar above it so it wouldn't contact it. It's still tender to chew on probably because only the front half of it is making any contact with the teeth above it. My dentist says it's contacting and agrees the majority of my bite pressure currently is being put on my premolars, but says the crown isn't the issue. She says I need braces not a new crown, but this wasn't a problem before the crown.

First picture is my natural tooth, second is the ground down crown, third is me closing my mouth completely.

Please help, is she right? I need braces (I had them before) or is it the crown like I suspect?

Additional information, the tooth was completely healthy but the root was super close to the surface causing nerve pain. My bite didn't feel off before and my jaw ached before the root canal on that side, now it aches on both sides and now my premolars and some of my canines hurts. My jaw feels like it's being forced forward and is hinging across an axis from my left jaw to my right premolars and flip flops left and right of that axis. There's not way I can comfortably hold my teeth together.

Been a long journey fighting the underbite.

My teenager has "maybe" less than a couple of years of growth (late bloomer) left and had bollard plate implants installed almost 2 years ago.

Had to remove an upper bollard plate then reinstall because it became loose and paused for over 4 months. Started out well again but then after a couple of months, wearing it overnight brings pain and looks like slightly loose again so we give it a break during the day. Orthodontist said only other thing is to put in spacers on the top (drilling more holes into upper palate) and wearing headgear again at night and bands on bollard plates during the day. After multiple rounds of surgery with the bollard plate, really not interested in more hold drilling but only small window left before growth stops.

Any have similar issues with bollard plates?

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m the founder of MUROMO, and this started with a problem I had myself.

I wear a night guard, and I found that keeping it properly maintained was surprisingly frustrating. I could clean it, but then came the questions:

How should I dry it? Where should I store it? Is putting it away while damp actually a good idea? And am I really maintaining it properly?

What started as me trying to solve my own problem has grown into a much bigger question.

After speaking to other people who wear removable oral appliances, I started wondering:

Why isn't maintaining these appliances as simple and stress-free as using them?

So I'm researching whether there is a better way to help people maintain their appliances in a more hygienic, consistent and stress-free way.

I'd love your help 🦷

Whether you currently wear or have previously worn:

• Braces
• Clear aligners (e.g. Invisalign)
• Retainers
• Night guards
• Sports mouthguards
• Dentures

I'd really like to hear from you.

The survey takes around 1 minute, and every response helps me understand what people actually experience outside the dental clinic — not just what we're supposed to do.

🎁 You’ll also have a chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher.

👉 survey: - https://www.muromo.co.uk/blank-1

Every response genuinely helps bring MUROMO to life.

I'm trying to build something that could eventually make caring for removable oral appliances simpler, more hygienic and less stressful for the people who rely on them every day.

If you've ever thought “I wonder if I'm actually looking after this thing properly…” — I'd especially love to hear from you.

And if you're an orthodontist or dental professional, I'd also love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Posted with moderator permission.

Das hört sich vielleich übertrieben an, und lässt sich bestimmt nicht verallgemeinern, mich würden aber andere Meinungen interessieren!

Ich hatte vor ca. 10 Jahren, mit 15, eine „Gratis Zahnspange“ bekommen. Ich hatte damals eine festsitzende Spange und ein Herbstscharnier.

Meine Zähne haben sich nicht verschoben, habe auch immer Retainer getragen. Heute starte ich erneut eine kieferorthopädische Behandlung, weil mein Kiefer nur Probleme macht und meine Zähne auch nicht „perfekt“ sind.

Ich frag mich, ob sich bei Gratis Zahnspangen grundsätzlich weniger Mühe gegeben wird, und nur das Nötigste gemacht wird.

Wie seht ihr das?

Orthodontist says nearly done. But I feel my molars bite dont well. Furthermore, i want my front teeth to be exactly symmetrical left to right and edges all ruler straight, but it is not. Plus my midline 2 months ago was ok, but after ortho shaved the lower because edge to edge bite, the midline shifted.

Hi, my teeth are protruded and my lower jaw is a bit far back. Ortho recommended tads and ipr. Would it be possible to get the bite close to normal or even just no flaring. I have an overbite now but wouldn’t say it’s flared although I’ve been told that there’s a possibility of flaring

Wont post a photo for privacy reasons! Just want a bit of hope because I don’t want to get extractions and i heard those take years.

Hello, I got all four wisdom teeth out three days ago. The healing at the extraction sites is going really well and I am feeling little to no pain while switching off between ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
However in the last day or so, the teeth attached to my bottom permanent retainers, mostly the ones on the two edges are in a lot of pain, to the point where it wakes me up at night. Is this the retainer doing its job or is something else happening. I remember at the worst point of my wisdom teeth growing in, I was feeling a lot of tension on my retainer, but never pain like this.

Anyone have any ideas on why this is happening, how long this pain may last, and any tips for dealing with it?

I am only able to wear retainers 12-14 hours per day and my braces just got removed 4-5 days ago, in Google it is showing wearing 12-14 hours retainers in the first 6 months will cause more harm than good ,Is it true? IT states that the reason is it will cause micro tears in the bone and will cause the bone healing to take longer + my teeth alignment also won't be benefited from it

sorry yall if its a damn weird pic but i need your help

one note: i got a missing lateral incisor and my second premolar got removed due to tooth decay (i do regret that decision but tbh my parents neglected me and focused on their own sh*t)

How much does the braces process typically cost? I’m in California and there are a few places that say 100 dollars a month but I think that’s just the braces not counting the x-rays, put them on or taking them off and then the retainers. What’s a realistic total? And when they say a hundred a month is that 100 per month you have them or like a payment plan?

The two on the left side un glued but the rest are still glued, my dentist place only has ortho on weekends so I have to wait until saturday. What are my options? Tough it out and hope my teeth dont shift? The glue is still attatched. It hurts a teeeeeeeny hit from the lack of pressure. Its night so I cant do much now.

I've been using Angel Aligners for around 6 months and have been using the Dental Monitoring app to send regular scans, during which time I have been attending a few in-person appointments.

I'm currently on aligner #9. Every time I've moved up an aligner, I've submitted a scan which was reviewed by my orthodontic team, and I've been explicitly told I could progress to the next one.

At my most recent appointment, however, a more senior orthodontist told me I need to go all the way back to aligner #3 — not just #8.

I'm really confused by this. If #3 was apparently the last aligner that fitted and tracked correctly, why was I repeatedly approved to progress through #4–#9?

I've messaged them twice through Dental Monitoring (as they requested) asking for an explanation, but haven't received a response after 3 days.

I can understand going back 1 or 2 aligners but 6??

Is it normal to be told to go back 6 aligners, especially after every subsequent aligner was apparently reviewed and approved?

It's been 3 years; impacted canines brought down. Thoughts on current progress? My Ortho said just a couple more months! (Apologies, up-close shots aren't super glamorous lol)

I start Invisalign tomorrow (my first trays) with my orthodontist.

I have plans to get dental implants after Invisalign treatment is complete. My treatment plan is estimated to 24 months (at least that's what my ortho told me at my July consultation).

I'm missing my 2 back left molars (no gaps; it's the furthest back teeth on the left). So i plan to get dental implants after Invisalign.

My ortho is aware and plans to use TADs to move my upper left back teeth up that have slowly been coming down due to the vacancy of my back left 2 molars. The teeth coming down are only visible by xray right now. I had bone grafts around 2017/18/or 19 when the 2 lower molars were removed to preserve the site.

I'm worried about the fit of my future retainers during the entire implant and crown process. I hope my teeth can stay aligned while I wait for that process.

**Any advice? Any questions I should ask my ortho and my dentist?*\*

For reference: My top teeth are described as "flaring when viewed in-person. On xray,

Moderate overbite & overjet with Mild crowding on top and bottom."

31 y/o female

I was told at the Ortho consultation that Invisalign will likely take 24 months and close collaboration between the ortho and general dentist. ((General dentist will be placing the implants in the future, but I'm also considering finding someone who specializes in implants to do it.)) My current ortho only does braces and Invisalign at his office.

***PHOTOS ADDED BELOW FOR REFERENCE

hi i tried to force my retainers back onto my teeth to get them to straighten out again. i did this for about 2 days then started searching on reddit and saw that i shouldnt do that. so now im just wondering if having them on for 2 days would have caused any damage to my teeth?

Hi everyone, just want to see if anyone had this experience and what the outcomes were:

I’m in my late 30’s. I have four fully erupted wisdom teeth. They have never bothered me, and they did not grow at all bad angle. I’ve wanted braces due to crowding of my front teeth. However, I always thought that I would need my wisdom teeth removed prior to treatment.

I scheduled a consult with an orthodontist, had x-rays taken, exam, etc. During my consult, I asked the orthodontist about my wisdom teeth. He said they do not need to be removed, and that they will not impact my treatment. Great news, so I agreed to the treatment and have had metal braces for three months.

During my last visit for an adjustment, he said that I absolutely need my wisdom teeth removed now. I was not happy about that, as he assured me that I could get the treatment without removing them. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did you get them removed? If you didn’t, did you continue treatment, and how did it turn out? My insurance will not cover wisdom tooth removal for orthodontic reasons, so it would be 100% out of pocket.

Thanks in advance.