Here’s a story that might sound familiar. Aged 13, or thereabouts, you were marched down to an orthodontist after your family dentist muttered the solemn words “It’s time to think about braces.”
Then followed anywhere from six months (for the extremely lucky) to three years (for those who were really up against it) of fixed appliances, train tracks, toothache, food caught in your teeth and more ulcers than you can shake a stick at. At the end, when it was all over, you were presented with a retainer, to wear at night like some kind of trophy.
Of course, the epilogue to that story for most of us is that the retainer was quickly discarded, after adulthood set in and you just ‘got out of the habit’. Fast-forward as little as three or four years, and your teeth might look worryingly like they did pre-mouth torture.
Retainer abandonment is understandable – your orthodontist’s warnings that your teeth will move fall flat on the ears of your ecstatic, braces-free teenage self, and once you hit university, wearing a retainer suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing what with sleepovers and late nights becoming the norm.
Of course, the relapse (the official term for it) happens slowly, so by the time you notice your teeth have moved? Well, that retainer might just feel a little too snug now.
My journey was similar – after about eighteen months of something called a functional appliance to correct my jaw which made me drool and then train tracks, I diligently wore my retainer. (No, really, Mum, I did). Except the wires hurt. They rubbed.
They left me with ulcers that made it too painful to eat and even the special wax the orthodontist gave me as a barrier didn’t help. I would wear the retainer for three weeks, develop painful sores, then have to take it out for as long as it took for them to heal, then go back to square one. It was a pain. And what’s more, those teeth were moving.
I considered my options. Getting braces again seemed costly (even bog-standard train tracks will run you up a few thousand, and more discreet options like Invisalign can reach the tens of thousands) and my teeth hadn’t moved enough to justify the expense.
I made an appointment with elleven, a London-based dental practice who look after the gnashers of David Gandy and Fearne Cotton to have a fresh pair of eyes peer inside my mouth.
‘Your teeth are not so bad’, my orthodontist told me in soothing tones. Well, that’s good, I thought. ‘But they are moving. Quite fast. If you don’t act quickly, the bottom teeth will collapse backwards.” Ah. That’s not so good.
My sporadic retainer-wearing had left my bottom teeth to start to lean back in a fashion that would eventually bring back the overbite I’d worked so hard to correct. Also, as you age, your jaw becomes ever more essential in keeping you looking young. Correct jaw alignment will stop you loosing so much density in your face, as it literally props up your features – think pillowy cheeks and a fuller pout for longer.
To put a stop to it, I decided to take a two-pronged approach. Firstly, I had a bonded retainer applied to my lower teeth. Not usually offered to teens on the NHS, this sees a thin metal wire glued to the back of the front six teeth permanently to help keep them in line. It provides round-the-clock prevention, and if maintained well, will last you a lifetime.
Then, I had impressions taken for a new retainer – instead of the palate-covering wire monstrosity I had, I would receive an Essix retainer. Made of lightweight plastic and fitting snugly over just the teeth, they’re infinitely more comfortable and less unwieldy. elleven assured me that this combination, while not corrective, would prevent further relapse and insure my smile. It would cost around £500 – pricey, but a fraction of the cost of braces.
Having the bonded retainer fitted took less than fifteen minutes, and was utterly painless. I’d expected some discomfort, but my orthodontist expertly fitted it quickly. Unfortunately, due to the arrangement of my teeth, after a month, it did snap off - which wasn’t as painful as it sounds, I could just feel something loose – so elleven removed the bonded retainer to try again. Most people’s teeth will be fine with the conventional method of applying a bonded retainer, wherein a straight piece of wire is bent and shaped on the day of application to the contours of your teeth, whereas my teeth needed impressions to be taken so the new wire would fit more snugly.
Other than that blip, I’m pretty impressed. In terms of diet, I’m best not biting into any apples (cutting them into slices is fine) and sticky toffees aren’t such a hot idea, but it’s not restrictive at all. Normal brushing, plus some interdental brush action around the wire keeps it clean and happy.
But what’s really been a revelation for me is how comfortable the Essix retainer is. elleven had it ready in a manner of days, and spent time with me to ensure it fitted comfortably and I was confident in how to look after it. It doesn’t rub, it doesn’t make me drool and it’s lightweight.
In terms of retention, Essix retainers often come out in independent studies as better than their wire counterparts (called Hawley retainers) – which could in part be due to the fact that they’re so comfortable, patients are more likely to keep wearing them.
As for me? I’ve accepted that the relapse that happened since I was 18 can’t be fixed now. But I’m confident in my smile, knowing that it’s not only wide and healthy now, but also that it’s insured for life.
*Visit elleven here. All prices quoted are estimates. *