<p>My son was lucky enough to be invited to go to Spain with another family for Spring Break. He left today and his retainer is sitting in his bathroom. What are the chances the retainers won't fit when he comes back? Should I panic?</p>
<p>How long will he be gone. If he just got his braces off, you should try to send him the retainer because your teeth will shift.</p>
<p>He's had the retainer a few years. I can't see how I can ship it to him in Spain and have him get it very soon. He'll be back April 2. I think he got his braces off when he was in 8th grade and he's in 11th now.</p>
<p>If you're worried, I'd put in a call to the orthodontist, but my completely unscientific observation is that most kids don't wear them very consistently after 6 - 12 months, so I suspect your son--who's been wearing his for 3 years--will be fine.</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry. I only wear mine about 3-4 times a month at night. Probably better he left it at home than lose it in Spain.</p>
<p>Just personal experience-think it takes several months for it not to fit.</p>
<p>You're making me feel SO MUCH BETTER. I keep hearing about people who quit wearing their retainers and their teeth go back to the original positions. I can call the orthodontist Monday but I know his receptionist will speak sternly and not have the knowledge he has. Thanks for easing my anxiety.</p>
<p>I have to comment on this it is a big topic in my household!
1st yes I would send the retainer, your teeth will move- of course by the time my daughter had ended her course of treatment- her retainer didn't even fit 6 months later.( I see that your son has had braces off for a while- then I wouldn't worry- they won't move in a week or two)</p>
<p>but wanna hear a story ? make you feel better ;)
My 14 year old just got braces yesterday. She wanted them ( I thought) although her teeth are very nice looking with out them, but some small corrections can be made. IT took an hour and half, and when I went to pick her up- she was pretty upset. She was uncomfortable and didn't think she could stand to have them on. I thought that she would get used to them, I assured her that as the teeth start to move, it doesn't hurt so much ( this is someone who has a high pain threshold for some things- she pierced her own ears when she was six up high on ear with her own post earrings- however she couldn't stand to wear socks or underwear till she was about 8)- but we stopped by home to get some pain reliever before I took her back to school. I was a good mom and had lots of soft things to eat in back seat of car. She sat in the back on the way to school- I thought becuase she was so upset- but she was calming down and I reminded her that if she really couldn't stand it- she could go back in to have them taken off- but I thought that after a few days she would be used to it.
wrong
Unbeknownst to me- while she was sitting in the back- she was working on all her bands with a pair of tweezers and ripping them out of her mouth.
Last night, I picked her up from a track meet and when we got home I said' I hardly see your braces"! ( We had paid extra for 'clear' ones). She said casually " thats because i took them off when you took me back to school" !
:eek: :eek:!
She completely took all her braces off in the 20 min it took to get her back to school :(</p>
<p>About your story, MY GAWD!! Did someone pay for these things? Did someone pay $3,500? </p>
<p>I still don't see how I can send the retainer. I'd have til Monday and can it be overnighted to Spain? What would that cost? I'd better go look.</p>
<p>If the teeth shift in the small amt of time, you can have the retainer adjusted or even re made. I think the cost has to be less than overnight to spain and the hassel involved at both ends.</p>
<p>I can't remember how many months my retainer sat at the sink before I needed it to be re made-son's orthodontist took me on as a pt and only charged $50 to make mold and remake the thing-used the same wires. When son lost his at the airport--all my husband's fault-- it was a couple of hundred (I think).</p>
<p>I go with calling the orthodontist next week and maybe making a follow up appt. </p>
<p>EmeraldKity-oh my...what are you going to do???????????????</p>
<p>i don't put my retainer in for stretches of time... 3 or 4 days sometimes... it'll fit fine don't overnight it, just wait till he comes back...</p>
<p>Where he has had the braces off for a long period of time and has been wearing a retainer for an extended period also - I would NOT bother trying to send it to Spain - big cost and huge risk of it getting lost or not delivered - He will be home 4/2 - he will not suffer any problems in that short of a period of time - just meet him at the airport with it in hand lol.</p>
<p>That's an idea. I think it's probably too germy for me to touch though.</p>
<p>I think everyone's teeth are different - your orthodontist may have an idea.</p>
<p>My teeth are the kind that shift. I had braces at age 13 and my teeth came out PERFECT. 2 months later I stepped on my retainer (and broke it) and was too embarassed to tell my parents. By the time I was a senior in HS I wasn't smiling much because my uppers had shifted quite a bit. :( 3 years out of college I went back to the orthodontist and paid for the uppers myself. I am still wearing my retainer every night 25 years later!! When you pay for it yourself it means so much more !! (Amazing how this retainer has lasted!!) So parents, show your kids my story and tell them to ALWAYS WEAR YOUR RETAINER!!!!!!</p>
<p>my parents threaten to make me pay for violin lessons... but that was when i didn't practice... now i practice like 2hrs a day...</p>
<p>I require large retainers.</p>
<p>I got braces when i was 11 or 12, and i remember when i got them off a few years later, i was so excited.. then i got my retainer, and it was sparkley yellow. Coolest thing ever. i had to wear it all the time for a few months, and then just nights for awhile, and then I just kind of stopped wearing it.. and when i went back for a checkup i'd put it back in... haha. My teeth never shifted because of it though, so its fine. My bottom teeth did shift a little bit when my wisdom teeth were coming in, but nothing noticable.</p>
<p>I got retainers the other day</p>
<p>-whoever invented retainers somehow forgot that people have tongues.
-i can't close my mouth completely with it in
-how on earth do people talk with them????</p>
<p>My son had to wear his all the time for a couple of weeks, now he's just supposed to sleep in them. Unless he talks in his sleep, it shouldn't be a problem. :)</p>
<p>hehe, concerneddad. That's exactly how I read the title, and I'm not a lawyer and my son DOES have retainers (which he could certainly go without for a week or two without a problem)!</p>
<p>Why don't they just use invisalign now instead of metal?</p>