Are permanent retainers recommended?

I think a question that I get asked quite a lot is “oh you have a permanent or fixed retainer behind” -- I have them as well. And it’s like a wire that’s permanently there, so it’s stuck to your teeth. And people always ask if food gets stuck, isn’t it difficult to clean. Actually, no. It is customised, again, exactly to the shape of your teeth. It is glued precisely in a position where it needs to be. So I honestly do not get any food stuck. The only time that I get food stuck is if I’m eating something with sesame seed and the sesame seed finds a way to get chucked between the wire and the tooth. That’s it. Otherwise, zero food stuck any other time. It really doesn’t cause much interference -- it doesn’t affect my speech, it doesn’t give me ulcers on my tongue, everything is smooth and it’s very comfortable.