Do you sleep in any kind of dental appliance?

I grind my teeth at night and it was causing jaw issues. When my dentist was fitting me for retainer to wear at night he suggested that I think about doing Invisalign to space out my lower teeth as they were super close together and a few were beginning to overlap. Flossing was nearly impossible for me. So in the fall of 2022 I wore Invisalign for about 4 months then went to an Invisalign retainer.

While I suspect some dentists do upsell, I have had this dentist for 32 years and knew he wasn't doing that. I was the one to bring up my teeth issues. I am currently wearing Invisalign again to correct an overbite and get my 4 top front teeth ready for veneers due to them being in bad shape (lots of bondings and fillings). By the time I get done with the Invisalign and the veneer work it will be about 6 months total time. Really looking forward to having a much better smile when this is over!


That should mean just for the duration of getting your teeth straightened back out and not for life!  Once you finish the treatment they make a final set of Invisalign with will serve as your retainer.  Take care of them and wear them regularly and you shouldn't need to see the dentist other than routine visits.

Wearing a retainer for life was not a thing when I had braces, so I definitely dont have that.
I had a bite guard for a while, but with my jaw problems, the dentist had me stop wearing it

No one told me to wear my retainers for life either. My lower teeth have shifted some. With aging everyone’s lower jaw changes

If it begins to cause other issues I will get Invisalign or whatever else my dentist suggests.

I clench my teeth, and I broke a crown because of it. So since then, I have been wearing a bite guard nightly. I do not want to break that crown again!

No. I had expensive braces and a plate on my upper teeth as a teen (I loathed them) for overcrowding. But in those days once they were off, they were off. My teeth have moved back a bit because I have a peg tooth, but nothing like back to where they were. They're not perfect-looking but they do the job and I have no fillings. I'm very fortunate.

I had braces as a teen and then recently as an adult. The braces were removed in November and I have to wear retainer 12 hours a day for two years. They do not bother me at all, much, much better than braces.

I didn't have braces as a child because my family could not afford them and my teeth weren't that crooked. However, by my 30s I wanted them to be straight, so I went the Invisalign route. It wasn't until you asked this question that I realized I've been wearing a retainer to bed every night for 15 years. So, yes, I wear the retainer. It isn't a big deal to me and now that I've done it for so long I feel weird without it. If I miss a few days, I do have shifting.

My orthodontist told me (this is what he said, not necessarily the truth, but it makes sense) that when kids have braces, they don't need retainers for life because their jaw bones haven't yet hardened. As adults, our jaw bone is fully formed, so when you mess with the teeth alignment, they will always want to go "home." Supposedly this is why it's easier to get your wisdom teeth out as a teen versus an adult. Mine came out at 33 and it was pretty rough.

I wear a night guard too and can’t sleep without it now!

I'm proof that your ortho isn't correct....

I had braces as a kid- started with a retainer at 7 and eventually had my braces off at 16.  Yep- 9 years of some sort of crap going on with my teeth- and they weren't THAT bad to start with.  I wore my retainer at night for a good many years- I think into my 20's.  Now, at 50, I'm getting my braces off again.  Had them put on just before I turned 48.  My bottom teeth had turned badly (like they were when I was 7) and I needed to get them straightened back out because they were chipping my top teeth.  My dentist said that if they got chipped bad enough they would split and I'd have to get implants.  No.thank.you.  So I did braces.  My teeth moved after I had braces most of my childhood and wore my retainer into young adulthood.