Life In Plastic, Not Fantastic!

The retainers are on and they feel pretty awful at the moment. Having the bite surface of my teeth in plastic feels weird and my whole mouth feels full, like wearing fake vampire teeth so I am talking a bit thickly and exaggerating the pronunciation of my words. I am much more aware of my saliva and having to handle it a lot more (gross!) too. Since they don't cover my palate, the gagging is not as immediate or as severe but my tongue catches the edges and I gag often. My ortho trimmed them but my gums are protesting at the edges too.

I have to wear the retainers full-time except when eating or brushing my teeth for a month, followed by evening and nights wear for a year! It should be nights-only wear but a night means 12 hours and since I don't sleep for 12 hours at a time, I will have to put them on in the evenings, 12 hours before I expect to get up or make up the extra time at weekends. Eventually, I should be able to wear them at nights only for my typical sleeping time of 7-8 hours, plus anytime I feel like it, for as many years as I can until they wear out.

The orthodontist gave me a goody bag for completing my treatment! It included a mug with some chocolates in it! I also got some lip balm and a compact mirror in a little drawstring bag, another sparkly purple retainer case to go with the one I got last time plus an extra plain purple case to keep as a spare and another month's supply of Retainer Brite.

It should last as I have been told to use it weekly and just clean them with a soft toothbrush and mild soap in between times. I was given a folder with my retainer instructions and my before and after photos. I have been instructed to alternate between both sets of my retainers so that they both fit, so have added stickers to colour-code the cases. I am due to return for my 3-month check up in July.