The cheek-biting thing was real though... like my mouth was suddenly too small for all its parts.
Yes, this! I’m about to get my braces off soon and I keep worrying I’ll just mess up the retainer right away, or forget it somewhere. The cheek-biting fear is so real—I already do that sometimes with braces, so I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like after. It’s weird how much I overthink all of it. Glad to hear it actually gets normal after a bit. Makes me feel less panicky about the whole thing.
The cheek-biting fear is so real—I already do that sometimes with braces, so I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like after.
I keep worrying about the retainer too—like, what if I lose it or it just feels weird? I totally get the “mouth too small” thing. When my cousin got hers off, she said her cheeks felt all puffy for a bit and she bit them by accident, but after a week or two it stopped. Guess our mouths just need to figure out the new space. Still kinda nervous about it though. Does anyone else double-check their retainer case every five seconds?
Totally relate to the retainer paranoia. When I first got mine, I was convinced I’d lose it within a week—kept checking my bag like every hour. The weirdest part for me was how different my mouth felt, almost empty? And yeah, I bit my cheeks a couple times too, but it faded pretty quick. The retainer felt bulky at first, but after a few days it just became normal. If you do misplace it, don’t panic—they can make you a new one (just learned that the hard way).
That “empty” feeling is so weird, right? I remember thinking my tongue had way too much space all of a sudden. Took me a while to stop worrying about accidentally tossing mine out with my lunch tray. I got a clear retainer and it felt super tight at first—almost like it was trying to squeeze my teeth back together. Did anyone else notice their speech changed for a bit? I had a lisp for the first few days, which was awkward during meetings...
I got a clear retainer and it felt super tight at first—almost like it was trying to squeeze my teeth back together.
That’s wild, I totally get what you mean about the retainer feeling like it’s just clamping down. Mine legit made my teeth ache for the first couple nights, like they were trying to snap back to their old spots or something. The “empty” mouth thing threw me off too—I kept running my tongue over my teeth just because it felt so different not having brackets in the way.
About the lisp, yeah, I noticed my S’s sounded super weird at first. I thought I’d gotten used to talking with braces, but the retainer had its own learning curve. Did anyone else have issues with drooling a bit more than usual? I was kind of embarrassed at first, especially in class. Guess it’s just your mouth figuring out the new setup.
Curious if anyone here had to wear those permanent wire retainers behind their teeth? I heard those can be a pain to keep clean, but my ortho didn’t recommend one for me. Wondering if I dodged a bullet or missed out on something easier.
