[armanigirl]

After losing my retainers and not wearing them for about 3 weeks .... my new ones finally came in yesterday ... i've been wearing them all day yesterday & to sleep, however i need to remove them to brush my teeth and to eat....let me tell you the PAIN is HORRIBLE! i yell everytime i pull out the retainers which are SUPER tight....i almost cry when shoving them back on and pulling them off.....i finally took 2 tylenols to numb the pain somehow..it feels like i have braces all over again but i can take them off which hurts even more than having them on all the time!!!!!!!!!! just a rant...and for those of you who's had braces and have retainers, please keep wearing them as your teeth do still move SLOWLY...and if you want perfect teeth again you would have to go through this horendous pain!!! gahhhh God forbid anyone have to go through this to get their teeth straight again!

[Night Jasmine]

Ahh ... I can totally relate and feel your pain! Would it be possible to have the retainers adjusted?

[gucci fan]

Sorry about your pain. I still can remember it well even though it has been 20 years. It is worth it though, I still get compliments on my teeth all the time.

[ImASadGiraffe]

I wore my retainers for about 1 year after I got my braces off and then I lost the retainer. It doesn't look like my teeth have moved but they could have moved slightly. That was about 10 years ago...I dread the thought of having to go through braces/retainers again.

[twiggers]

I wore my retainer for a year afterwards....then took it out. I tried to put it on a year later and no go. Dentist says my teeth look fine though & its been about 10 yrs.

[ScienceNerd]

I know how you feel. I only had a retainer, but after not wearing it for a month or two. I can't even get it on. I need to go get a new one made..

[elle tee]

I know how you feel! I am bad about wearing my retainers, so it's usually a few weeks between wearings and it hurts SO much. My teeth even hurt for a while after I take out the retainer. The worst part is it makes me not want to wear the retainer at all, because of the pain- which of course makes it worse when I do wear the retainer. Hang in there and give it a couple days, it will get better!

[priiin]

Aw sorry sweetie! I think the pain should be gone in about a week or two. You know what helped me when I had my braces? Warm salt water rinses. Take a cup of warm water and stir in 1-2 tablespoons of salt and rinse your mouth with it. Swish it around then spit it out. I would rinse my mouth again with normal water to get the salty taste out of my mouth. It relieved my pain temporarily. IDK if this will help..hope it does! Stay strong

[Speedy]

Awww, hang in there honey. I didn't get proper dental care when I was your age, and now all my teeth are broken off. (Mostly due to the lack of calcium in my body, but good dental care would have been a god idea as well!)

Taking the Tylenol sounds liek a good idea. Maybe a shot of whiskey as well? ;-)

[luvhautecouture]

I know mine doesn't hurt as much as yours... but am I the only one here who kind of enjoys the slight pain associated w/ the retainers??

(i also like it at the physical therapist when she uses the electric pulse machine on my achilles....)

[stmichel]

I feel your pain. After I had my braces removed I religiously wore retainers for 1 year with pain but I got used to it. Tylenol did help to a point. I changed retainers to one that is used for teeth bleaching--i forgot the name.
I had to get my teeth molded for this--clear soft rubber for both upper & lower teeth. I no longer wear retainers and it has been more than 10 years. My teeth looks fine to me but my dentist told me that my teeth does move microscopically.

[Infinitum]

I'm 30 and STILL wear my retainers at night. Even after not wearing them for a couple of days and then putting them in, my teeth hurt and I get an instant headache. Unfortunately for most people who had braces, it's becomes a natural part of the everyday routine.