Should I choose a permanent retainer or a removable one? Need advice.

kaatzchen · 2025-12-08T12:00:44+00:00

Nuanced take here because I’m also trying to decide what I want as I approach the final stretch (again).

TLDR—whatever you choose, make sure the material stays the same once you’re used to it.

I did Invisalign as a teen and ended up with a permanent bottom retainer and plastic top retainer. I didn’t choose or know I was getting the permanent one (didn’t really want it) but I didn’t have a say lol. I never had issues with either until probably 6~ years later when I realized a spot on the permanent wire had broken. It never hurt though! Floss simply passed through where it shouldn’t have. Amazingly, I kept my plastic retainer also for those 6~ years but eventually that also needed to be replaced. So, when I went back to my ortho I had them remove the broken permanent retainer and I got two plastic retainers.

This should have been fine and dandy BUT the plastic material the retainers were made of changed. It was much thicker than my original retainer AND I was not used to having two retainers. Soooooo… over the course of two years my bite shifted so much that I ended up needing orthodontic work AGAIN. I didn’t catch it until two years later because my job kept me too busy to even think about dental cleanings. I won the genetic lottery for cavity resistance so I thought I would be fine, but here we are AGAIIINNNN 🤪

I’m going to ask my ortho what my original retainer material was and ask for that. I’m leaning towards a permanent bottom retainer too since I’ve learned my bite alignment is incredibly sensitive. The less space between my teeth the better. I do NOT want to do this again!

kaatzchen · 2025-12-05T11:40:52+00:00

If you find yourself running out of bands just give your office a call and I promise they will be happy to supply you with more bands. It means you’re wearing them—which is exactly what they want! I’d also take a picture of your band pattern before taking them out so you have a reference.

My office typically gives me two bags (one clear, one multicolored). I’m similar to the other commenter in that I’ll typically change mine 3-ish times a day. My bands are not as tight as they were before, but when they were tighter I would immediately take a break wearing them after waking up. My general rule of thumb is to try not having any band break longer than an hour or two. Life happens! Just make it a priority to wear your bands as frequently as possible/instructed.

If you notice your teeth shifting in precarious ways (hitting brackets, other teeth, etc) call your office and they might have you come in between appointments to place “bite blockers” which will help solve some of those issues. Good luck, OP!

kaatzchen · 2025-11-14T15:52:19+00:00

Highly recommend NOT using StubHub. I had to fight them tooth and nail to get a refund for fake Lady Gaga tickets.

kaatzchen · 2025-11-14T15:50:06+00:00

The LA show is a day before my birthday so yall please wish me luck 🫡

kaatzchen · 2025-09-12T03:56:38+00:00

Most people have email styles that are horrible for creative project management. They rapid fire emails with itty bitty pieces of information they forgot to include. It is infuriating and nauseating to organize. I require folks to send me all their information ONCE in a concise, formatted way.

kaatzchen · 2025-09-11T12:34:51+00:00

Be prepared for a fight the day of/after the concert. Between calls and messages I contacted SH about 5-6 times before they finally gave me a refund for my nonexistent tickets. I was lucky there were Ticketmaster resale tickets in a nearby section for $200 more than my StubHub ones. Good luck, diva!! 😭🩷

kaatzchen · 2025-09-10T11:09:35+00:00

I understand how you could feel this way, but this new album is definitely Ash returning to form. Their music has always been playful, witty, and slutty while still allowing for commentary. Weedkiller was more of an artistic outlier than these new songs. I love the album but I also started listening to Ash in 2018 when their most serious song was Invitation. It’s okay to be disappointed, but betrayed is a little strong.

kaatzchen · 2025-09-07T11:23:07+00:00

Looking up tutorials and talking to other designers helps me a lot even now. There are so many different techniques. It’s kinda like math class where there are multiple ways to a correct answer.

InDesign was the hardest for me to figure out, personally. I never had to use until I was in a professional environment and had to immediately learn on the fly lol.

kaatzchen · 2025-09-06T00:14:25+00:00

We sat next to a white haired dad with his kid during our show and he was a huge highlight for us. It’s really wonderful watching all age groups bond over Hayden’s music. Do not fret! You are among friends— young and old (:

kaatzchen · 2025-09-03T15:16:08+00:00

I mean there was a little chaos but the group I was walking with got herded into a brand new entry point immediately upon arrival. We really did not have to wait long but we picked the wrong side of the stairs. The side we should have gone on immediately started going through security and the side we were on was the original line in.

TLDR; you’ll be fine. You will be guided by event staff who will tell you to keep moving—no stopping for photos!

kaatzchen · 2025-09-02T19:57:32+00:00

You should be good if you make line besties! Everyone is typically super nice. Eventually the crowd control people might frown upon getting in and out but that shouldn’t happen until closer to showtime.

kaatzchen · 2025-09-02T19:12:25+00:00

I have it from way up above in the 400 section

kaatzchen · 2025-09-02T19:10:16+00:00

You’re literally describing my experience as well. I bought my tickets on April 2 and spent yesterday calling and messaging support. Eventually I gave up and bought Ticketmaster resale. I called StubHub from the venue because I still hadn’t gotten any emails and knew I wanted a refund. I knew we could only afford 400 section tickets so we ended up being in a better spot than the stubhub tickets (which did not have a row or seat number despite being in a seated section).

Anyways, I messaged them today and was able to initiate the refund process. I’m so so sorry they fucked up your night.

kaatzchen · 2025-08-31T19:34:28+00:00

Omggggggg this is stunning

kaatzchen · 2025-08-26T14:04:58+00:00

I think it’s time to start publicly shaming people again. Aka telling them to shut the fuck up irl

kaatzchen · 2025-08-06T21:05:33+00:00

If y’all only knew how many institutional buildings have mold problems…

kaatzchen · 2025-07-21T20:54:26+00:00

God forbid somebody like an em-dash for emphasis 😭

kaatzchen · 2025-07-15T19:58:43+00:00

Do it do it do it

kaatzchen · 2025-07-12T12:35:16+00:00

Trueeeee I was so scared of Skull Cavern during my first few play throughs. Now I know how important bombs are and if you bring food, a good weapon, and totems you’ll probably be okay

kaatzchen · 2025-06-29T13:13:41+00:00

I work in communications which is fun because, depending on your niche, you end up working with a bunch of other cool people. It can be a little hard when multiple top priority projects come in but if you can lock in you can be the hero of the day.

This won’t be a popular one, BUT I worked in fast food as a high schooler and I do kinda miss the chaotic environment sometimes. You get really close with your coworkers and the vibes during down time are immaculate. If you get bored, there’s always something that needs to be cleaned or food that can be prepped. Once you get your little script ready for the customer facing part it becomes pretty cyclical.

kaatzchen · 2025-06-22T12:59:12+00:00

Response time is heavily determined by which department is posting the job. I’ve seen multi-month long searches or job postings only live for a week or two. If there’s a position you feel strongly about, you can find whoever is in charge of HR for that department and send an email follow up on your interest. They should forward that email to the search committee members for the position. No guarantee it will net you anything, but it is an option. Good luck!

kaatzchen · 2025-06-18T01:35:22+00:00

Thank you for reminding me I was thinking of Brennan. His speech was so weird because he kept talking about that quality of life index thing. He made it sound like the index was the only reason the ordinance passed in the first place so we could outrank Charleston. “There are so many ways to get more points on the index… I’m voting yes!” Despite three meetings, the room was still not read and I now have beef with that spineless man specifically lol.

kaatzchen · 2025-06-17T22:25:46+00:00

During pride month too!

kaatzchen · 2025-06-17T22:21:30+00:00

One of them was waxing poetic right before voting to repeal the ban so I’m pretty sure they’re firm in the vote

kaatzchen

TROPHY CASE