Unbelievably, it has been 5 weeks since I got my braces off. Looking back I kind of went through a few stages getting used to having no braces and having retainers
During the first few days I was actually a little worried. I knew my teeth weren't 100% perfect, the retainers were bothering me, my bite didn't fit with the retainers on and I had to get used to taking the retainers off every time I ate. I tried my best to keep them on for as long as possible but that was not possible as I eat constantly! Talking was also really hard and took more than just 2 days (as the ortho said) for my tongue to get used to them - I slurred my R's and TH's.
The following few days my feelings changed - I was ecstatic. It was amazing to feel my actual teeth against my cheeks. I had realized my teeth were still trying to settle in and were still moving around. I kept smiling as I was actually very happy about seeing some really nice teeth on me.
A couple of weeks into the retainers I started getting used to the routine of taking the retainers off, rinsing them every time, brushing them day and night and so on and so forth. My teeth have settled in by this time and I can actually bite (no food) with the retainers on. My speech improved drastically but there is still a hint of slurring but I feel confident talking with them. Another great thing I started appreciating more was the fact that I could eat without having food stuck on my braces. Cheers to that!
Now, I am 100% happy. At times I think maybe my teeth aren't perfect or maybe they are a little forward or not symmetrical enough. But, at the end of the day, I'll leave that up to the orthodontist and his years of experience.
During my checkup today I had my pictures taken again. Hopefully, I'll get a copy of them as well but I am not sure. I might have to call and request them to be emailed to me. The ortho checked my retainers and how they were fitting and said they were fitting great. Which was an indication that I had been wearing them long enough. I also requested to polish off my incisor as I still felt it was too big and also the next tooth which was too "sharp" compared to the other side.
Picture time!
