1. “Wearing a retainer for the rest of your life sounds way too extreme” — After everything your teeth went through to get straight, wearing a thin piece of plastic to sleep at night is honestly the easiest part of the whole deal. 2. “You only need your fixed retainer for a year or two and then you can remove it” — Your teeth never fully stop wanting to move back to where they started, which is why a fixed retainer is not a temporary thing but one of the easiest long term ways to keep your smile straight. 3. “A fixed retainer damages your teeth and gums over time” — A correctly fitted fixed retainer is one of the most reliable ways to keep your teeth in place around the clock, and the small extra effort of cleaning around the wire is a fair trade for not having to worry about your teeth shifting back overnight. 4. “Having a fixed retainer means you’re fully protected” — A fixed retainer only holds your front teeth still and does nothing for the rest of your mouth, which is why most ...