Flossing is definitely trickier—I had to watch YouTube videos just to figure it out, and even then it feels like an Olympic sport some days.
That’s exactly how I felt when I first got a fixed retainer. I swear, I spent more time wrestling with floss than actually cleaning my teeth. I still get nervous about forgetting the removable one too—my worst fear is leaving it on a tray at a restaurant. The anxiety does settle down, but I still have random dreams about losing my retainer... guess that never totally goes away.
I totally relate to the stress over losing a removable retainer—mine lived in a bright orange case for that exact reason, but I still worried about leaving it somewhere weird. The fixed one was its own kind of hassle though... I remember getting so frustrated with those little floss threaders, especially when I was tired at night. It’s wild how something so small can mess with your peace of mind. Even now, if I have a dream about my teeth shifting, I wake up checking if everything’s still in place. Guess the anxiety never fully disappears, but it does get more manageable over time.
