How long do you have to wear retainers for?

your orthodonist should of told you how long. Umm my friend had to wear them for about 2 years. my cousin started to not wear hers often and her teeth started shifting back.. so it depends on your teeth. and they probably hurt becuz ur retainer is suppse to keep ur teeth in place.. and ur teeth probably shifted a little already since u wore them less often so when u put the retainer on its tighter cuz the teeth arent where theyre suppose to be.

I had braces and then a retainer (only one) and I only wore it during the day and night for like a few months after I first got it. I then wore it only at night for about a couple years then I stopped and my teeth didn't really move after that there still as straight as ever. I don't know if that helps you but that's my personal experience P.S. the reason I only had one retainer was because some dentists will put a small (permanent) metal wire behind your teeth that holds them in place and I had the wire on my bottom teeth and thus didn't have a to wear a retainer for my bottom teeth. A friend of mine has the wires on both top and bottom and tho he was lazy about wearing his retainer his teeth never moved so idk if that helps you but you could ask your dentist about it P.S.S. The hurting is totally normal :P