Anyone who's had braces should know that once you have them removed, the dentist will give you a retainer to wear, to help maintain the new position of your teeth - but you don't need to keep it in all the time. Unless you're this guy, who has just removed his after FIVE YEARS. Watch:
Matthew, who runs the @fleetingfilms TikTok account, had his retainer put in when he was 18 and living in Wales, UK, before moving to Hawaii to study. He says it was a 'small, cheap orthodontist' that glued - yes, glued - the retainer in place.
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Explaining that he 'didn't know any better', he explained that because the metal retainer (otherwise known as a fixed retainer) was glued in place on his bottom teeth, he thought this was 'normal'.
Turns out it's not. But it took five or six years for him to realise this.
He continued: "I had no idea how dirty it had gotten over the years, it was so gradual I didn't realise how bad it got!
"Imagine my surprise when my boyfriend finally yanked it out and revealed my nice clean pearly whites underneath."
In footage of the moment they finally removed the retainer, he explains to the camera: "So, I just found out something kind of crazy and I don't think I believe it.
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"But [his boyfriend] here is telling me that, apparently, after the orthodontist puts in your retainer, you can take it out at any time."
He continues: "There's no way. I have literally had this retainer in for, what? Five or six years?
"He's telling me you can take these out."
At this point in the clip, the camera pans to the man's boyfriend, who tells him: "Dude, everyone knows you can take out your retainer."
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After he expresses his concern for his teeth coming out with the plastic covering, his boyfriend offers to prove himself right... Oh God, no.
Despite him saying he doesn't want to be shown, still convinced that the retainer was supposed to be permanent, his boyfriend goes in and grabs hold of the shield.
Finally getting it out, the man's boyfriend simply said: "Ew." Understandably so.
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The man, on the other hand, can't quite get over how the whiteness of his teeth, now seen without the retainer for the first time in years. They do sparkle, in fairness.
Even after it's been pulled out, though, he STILL seems to think the orthodontist will have to glue it back in.
In conclusion, he says: "Am I seriously the only person that didn't know these actually come out? Look at how white my teeth are... and how has nobody ever told me that before? It's crazy."
Featured Image Credit: ViralHogTopics: Teeth, Community, Weird