!<P>Ryu: So, Ken, hyped about Alpha 2?
Ryu: Why so down?
Ken: Well, my stage seems so empty.
Ryu: Empty? You have have all those other characters! All I have is snow...
Ken: But you LIKE snow!
Ryu: You have Morrigan, fecilia, and all those party go-ers!
Ken: I know. I need something more...<P>So, Ken went to the Capcom Director.<P>CD: Ken! Always so nice to see you, my boy! What can I do for you?
Ken: It's about my stage in Alpha 2...
CD: What about it?
Ken: It just seems that since I have all those fighters, maybe there can be a non-fighter cameo...
CD: Whoa! I know where you're going with this! And, I told Cody, I told Guy, and I'll tell you. Megaman is busy!
Ken: Not Megaman! I was thinking of like, Captian Commando.
CD: We can do that.
Ken: And Strider Hiryu.
CD: Strider Hiryu? That bozo? Ken, you're in Street Fighter! One of the most financially set games EVER! You don't need Strider Hiryu!
Ken: I like his games. I'd like to meet him.
CD: Fine...<P>So, ken's stage was getting ready. Strider Hiryu showed up, and talked with some of the 'new' Capcom stars.<P>Morrigan: Hey, you're Strider Hiryu, aren't you?
SH: Yes, I am.

SH: Thanks... I think.
Morrigan: No! Really! Ken's rich and all, and he's DEFINENTLY gained some weight from Streef Fighter 2.
Morrigan: You're slimmer than ever. See you by the pool!<P>So, the stage shoot over, Strider goes home. A few years pass by, and he gets a call.<P>SH: Hello?
Ken: Strider! What's going on? You got a minute?
SH: Sure. What's up?
Ken: Have you heard about Capcom's 'Marvel vs Capcom' project?
SH: Yeah, a little. Morrigan told me a bit about it yesterday. What's wrong? Didn't make the cut?
Ken: No, they're giving Ryu me and Akuma's powers.
SH: Yeah, that'll work...
Ken: Anyway, that's not why I called. They need a combo crazy character.
SH: A what?
Ken: Have you seen any of those cross-over games I was in?
SH: Yeah, I grazed X-men vs Street Fighter over for a bit. By the way, nice Dragon Punch.
Ken: Thanks, but you know how Wolverine plays? Real fast and combo intense?
Ken: Well, Chun-Li usually does that, but she's got this new super move, and wants to be more of an 'air combo' person.
SH: I see...
Ken: Look, I'll cut it short. Everybody down here likes you, from Jin, to Megaman. 
SH: Ok. I'll try that... Thanks.<P>So, Strider went down to MvC recruitment. And he blew them away.<P>Jin: Damn! Those are some flashy moves!
Roll: Love that Ouroboros! Wish I had something like that.<P>Then, Strider was called into the Director's office...<P>CD: Strider, baby! How's you been! Look, people LOVE you again! Love you! We want to do another Strider game!
SH: Oh, no. We did Strider 2, and it absolutly SUCKED!
This chapter will provide guidance on what should be checked once retainers have been fitted following the end of active treatment. It will be assumed that treatment has been completed satisfactorily as planned and that two-arch fixed appliances have been used.
Many operators will not see the patient again for about 3 months after retainers are fitted. Ideally, it might be argued that an earlier check (perhaps 4–6 weeks after the retainers have first been fitted) would ensure that there are no problems or misunderstandings with retainer wear at this crucial stage of treat­ment. Unfortunately, should either the patient or operator not appreciate this, then an entire 2-year treatment can easily be rendered useless due to poor or no retainer wear leading to rapid and gross relapse. It is therefore extremely important that operators ensure that patients are aware of the need and importance of the retention period.
There are no obvious deformities in the working model. This is not always possible to assess for VFRs, since the model may have been destroyed when the appliance was removed from it.
In addition, once the above are confirmed as correct, the appliance should be checked to see there are no sharp edges or acrylic ‘blips’, which may cause discomfort or damage to the patient (see Chapter 4).
If well made, these appliances should fit down properly. However, occasionally the appliance may not seat down fully if the colleting has not been sufficiently trimmed from around the teeth. If this occurs, often further trimming is needed in the premolar or molar region. You will need to check how far occlusally the acrylic lies. If it is preventing full seating, then an acrylic bur and straight handpiece should be used to trim the acrylic in the colleted areas such that the collets rise only to about half way along the palatal surfaces of, for example, the premolars and/or first permanent molars.
Another reason the appliance may not seat fully is if acrylic has crept along the arms of the fly-overs between the contact points. In this circumstance, Adams’ pliers can be used to simply ‘crunch’ off any stray acrylic by squeezing the acrylic between the beaks of the pliers.
Where any acrylic is to be trimmed, this should of course be done outside the mouth. The patient, nurse and operator should wear eye protection whilst trimming is being undertaken.
Consider tightening the Adams’ clasps to engage the undercuts more deeply using Adams’ pliers. This should be done by gripping each of the fly-overs in turn at the most buccal point and bending the arrowheads downward so that they engage the undercuts more.
Either alternatively or in addition to the Adams’ clasp adjustment, it may be necessary to adjust the labial bow. This will depend on where the appliance is loose.
Figure 8.1 demonstrates a poorly fitting, loose labial bow and how to adjust it. As shown, once the retention has been improved, the final adjustment that may be required is to reposition the labial bow. This is sometimes needed due to the fact that when the U-loops are tightened, this tends to move the labial bow incisally. This can only be tolerated for a small number of visits since the bow will gradually edge toward the incisor tips. This will lead to poor retention and, with a Hawley retainer in the lower arch, potentially occlusal interferences with the upper teeth. In order to avoid this, a simple adjustment needs to be made in the U-loop such that the anterior part of the bow is pushed gingivally. This is done using Adams’ pliers to push the mesial component of the wire (which projects anterior to the U-loop) in a gingival direction so that the labial bow lies in the middle of the incisor crowns or as close to this as possible.
Figure 8.1 A poorly fitting, loose labial bow (a). To tighten the labial bow, the U-loops of the labial bow are gently squeezed using either Adams’ pliers or spring-forming pliers: place the U-loop between the beaks and squeeze gently so the U-loop closes or tightens a little (b). This should bring the labial bow into closer contact with the teeth; this should be done carefully and relatively symmetrically, so that the bow does not distort to one side – leading to no fit at all. Once the retention has been improved, the final adjustment that may be required is to reposition the labial bow. This is sometimes needed due to the fact that when the U-loops are tightened, this tends to move the labial bow incisally (c and d). This should bring the labial bow into closer contact with the teeth, but again this should be done carefully and relatively symmetrically, so that the bow does not distort to one side – leading to no fit at all. The improved fit is shown (e and f).
The impression was dragged or has otherwise been distorted, either at the time it was taken or at some point subsequently.
Any such scenario will mean a re-make with a new impression is needed.
The appliance should seat down fully around the teeth and there should be no rebound as it is seated. The margin of the appliance extends just onto the gingivae, buccally and palatally/lingually, in both arches. These appliances will normally fit very tightly, so to avoid surprising the patient, they should be advised of this before you actually fit them.
As you push the appliance down over the teeth, be vigilant: if on fitting down, the appliance is seen to be forcibly pressing against the gingivae (causing blanching), stop and remove the appliance as this is likely to be