S/O Bonded lower retainer vs removeable

[RootAnn]

Ds will have the choice between a bonded lower retainer & a removeable one. We are getting the old school metal ones, not the invisaline-type. Only one of my brothers had the permanent lower type. The military took it out & his teeth shifted. My dd has both removeables & does fine with them. What say The Hive?

[Mona]

My oldest son had the old school one and it lasted him about three years before it broke. I didn’t replace it, and his teeth have been fine. My daughter had a choice between Invisalign or bonded and we went with the Invisalign because she had issues in the past with cleaning when she had appliances on her teeth. She only has to wear them at night and goes for re-checks every couple months to check for shifting. The last time she went in they told her to wear them a little longer but not all day. They are keeping a close eye on if teeth are shifting. So far, I’m happy with her choice. 

[RootAnn]

I had the invisilign type years ago & they didn't last long at all - maybe a year? My teeth have shifted but not badly.

My dd#1's traditional ones are 6 years old & fine. She only wears them at night - per instructions.

My sister has had hers for years & years. She wears them every night. No issues.

[kirstenhill]

I had the permanent kind. I ended up asking the dentist to remove it in my late 30s because it was so, so hard to keep the area underneath clean. He said he ends up removing a lot of them from adults. One of my teeth shifted but it's minor. I have other teeth issues unrelated to orthodontics that are more distracting looking, and so I'm not concerned about the one slightly misaligned tooth.  I'd probably suggest to my kids to get removable if it's an option since those can be replaced if lost or broken but you don't have years of difficulty trying to keep clean around it. 

[sbgrace]

My son's orthodontist really likes bonded (with invasalign on the top). One son got bonded on top and bottom plus invasalign.

It is nice not to have to take it in and out and worry about losing it. The orthodontist said she sees far less shifting with bonded. 

Cleaning is hard. It feels like a trade off. 

[MerryAtHope]

I’d go removable. I had a bonded one and had it removed, and my teeth shifted quite a bit. But they need to understand that they need to keep wearing it—if they stop, their teeth will likely move.

[klmama]

One of my adult dc wore removable retainers nightly for whatever amount of time was expected, then once a week after that for a few years, and now once a month (which isn't recommended, but that's what's happening).  Popping them back in for 15 minutes gets any wayward teeth back in line.  

Another adult dc misplaced the retainers for over a year and experienced a lot of shifting - the teeth looked almost as bad as before braces.  After finally finding the retainers, dc moved the teeth back quite a bit by wearing the retainers again, but the teeth aren't nearly as straight as they were before.  

 

 

[Forget-Me-Not]

Both my kids who have finished braces have bonded lower retainers and wear nightly Vivera retainers. So far no issues with cleaning — in fact at one of her last dental appointments, the hygienist went on a bit about how clean DD was keeping hers. 

[zimom]

I removed my bonded bottom retainer during college and stopped wearing my removable one around then too.  My teeth shifted so much that I just went through Invisalign.   One of my girls has bonded top and bottom, yeah!  One has bonded bottom and removable top and I know she doesn't wear the top as much as she should.  I have bonded bottom and removable top and I wear mine nightly.  I know my son was given a removable top but he has never worn it and 8 years of braces are now out the window.  I don't remember if he has a bonded bottom retainer.    Unless you have a very compliant child that will stay that way as an adult, go bonded.  Anyone would have bet I would have been the most compliant user knowing me as a teen but I still stopped wearing my retainer during/after college.  

[Resilient]

I had the bonded one and it was great. I had to have it removed due to interaction with the metal (I'm a mess that way) and my teeth have shifted.  This was my second go-around with braces, and the last, so I am disappointed that it had to go.

[catz]

Both my kids have the bonded and their subsequent dental check ups have been good and easy.  We do buy the picks you can use with braces.  

I kind of feel like whether it breaks, comes off, or you lose or break the one you can take out, they aren't likely to last forever and you will have to do something if you don't want to risk shifting.  Our ortho didn't even ask, he just routinely does the bonded type on lower for most.  

Edited November 22, 2021 by FuzzyCatz