My braces are gone, and I'm discovering that I hate retainers almost as much as I hated braces.
For one thing, retainers hurt when you first get them on. Ok, so do braces. But braces don't make you nauseous or give you headaches. Retainers can.
For another, they suck when you want to eat. You have to find this huge ugly plastic case (which doesn't fit into a pocket) and take out the retainers, which are all spitty and NASTY and put them into it. Braces stay glued on your teeth and out of the way.
For a third, they take extra cleaning. Certainly, you have to brush well with braces. But you don't have to change the my-toothbrush-is-in-my-mouth routine. With the retainers, you do that and then you brush the plastic torture device as well. And once a week you have to Efferdent them. Ew. Efferdent is for old people with dentures. I have none of those.
And last but not least, they pick up smells. Generally it's based on what you eat, but right now mine smell exactly like wet dog. And you can bet I haven't been eating any of those. Probably it's just a little reminder from the world that I shouldn't smell my retainers before I put them back into my mouth. But still, ew.