It didn't really take a whole year. I was driving back from a Dentist appointment on January 24, 2013 when I was T-boned in the intersection of Alcosta Blvd. and Bollinger Canyon Road. At that point, straightening my bottom teeth was not a priority.
It took about three months to recover from my accident. I could have returned to Dr. Eberle for my adjustments in April, but because the accident was associated with going to the Dentist, I wasn't quite ready to go back until August.
So I skipped the straightening process for 8 months and it almost had to be restarted. Dr. Eberle readjusted the adjustable retainer, and I continued to go back for adjustments every week or two until now.
I wasn't so concerned with how my teeth looked, but I kept biting my lip or my cheek and one particularly angled tooth kept cutting or rubbing the inside of my lip.
I'm writing about this again because many people over 50 have crooked bottom teeth. Maybe younger people do too, but it is very noticeable in baby boomers and up. As we age our bottom teeth become more crooked. I see a lot of older people on TV with very crooked bottom teeth. These people may not know how easy it is to use an adjustable retainer to straighten their crooked teeth.
If any of my readers have slightly crooked or migrating teeth I highly recommend contacting your Dentist about straightening them. If you need an orthodontist, your Dentist will tell you, but if you can use the adjustable retainer it will be easier and much less expensive. My original orthodontics cost four times what the adjustable retainer cost.
With my teeth almost completely straight now, I don't have any problems with biting my lip or cheek. The adjustment process is easy and not terribly expensive. If anyone out there is bothered by crooked teeth, call your Dentist and see if an adjustable retainer would work for you.