After Braces - Retainer Adjustment Update

I called and made an appointment today to get my retainer checked due to my shifting teeth.  I was able to get in at 2:00pm today.  My Ortho said she saw my blog (which I absolutely love that!!) so she knew what my issues were and had a plan ready for me when I got in.  She said sometimes teeth want to drop which looks like what was happening on my right upper tooth.  So she put a bump on my tooth using the cement they use to bond braces on.  She then made a few adjustments to my retainer and let me know that my retainer will feel low for the first few days, then it will slowly rise back up each day that goes by.  This way the bar is putting pressure on my tooth where the cement is and help it push the tooth back up evenly with the other tooth.  She then made a few adjustments on my lower retainer to try and set the few teeth that have shifted back into place.  She wanted me to make an appointment in the next few weeks to see if these changes helped.  If not, then she said she would put braces back on my teeth to correct the issues that are taking place.  She let me know that sometimes this happens, especially as adults.  It wasn't anything I have been doing wrong or anything she did wrong.  Sometimes our teeth want to shift even with the retainer.  Of course I have no problem having the braces back on if that's what is needed to be done.  I've come this far and if getting my teeth exactly where they need to be is to put braces on for a little bit longer, then that's what I will do.  But, the adjustments she made this time with the retainer could still do the trick so we will see on May 10th what will happen.  She also smoothed out my bottom teeth to help them look more even and took some of the jagged edges off.  You can see in the photos below the cement bump on my tooth and how low my retainer is now on the top teeth...in order to push that tooth up.  I will update again after my May 10th appointment...

After Braces - Retainer and Chipped Tooth update

Sorry, I haven't updated in awhile.  I did get my chipped tooth filled in February.  My dentist did a filling to fix it and said that it could chip again in the future and that I would need to get veneers for a permanent fix.  But I will hold off on that for awhile....at least until my braces are paid off.  He did an amazing job though, and you can hardly tell the difference. 

Since I started wearing my retainer I have had issues with my front tooth wanting to move in front of the other.  My last appointment my Ortho adjusted my retainer to try to fix the issue.  I decided to give it a bit of time to see if it would move back, but so far it hasn't and it's been several weeks since my last appointment.  I plan on calling tomorrow to see if I can get in and have her adjust my retainer once more.  My teeth look very uneven on the top because of this.  I hope that the retainer can fix the problem, because it bugs me seeing my teeth one shorter than the other.  If it finally does go back in place after another adjustment then my Ortho will smooth out my teeth to make them more even at my next scheduled appointment in June.

My bottom teeth are still shifting as well.  You can see in the photo they look like they are leaning.  I am hoping another retainer adjustment will fix that issue as well.  But, other than those slight issues, I haven't had any problems with my retainer.  I wear my retainer 24 hours a day, I only take it out to eat and to brush my teeth.  I'm used to wearing the retainer now and I don't feel like I talk too funny anymore with it in.  I'm thinking I may need to continue wearing it longer than the 6 months with the issues I keep having with teeth shifting....not sure though.  Hopefully they can get me in tomorrow and another adjustment to the retainer will push these stubborn teeth back in place.  I will try to do better and update sooner next time.