Bangorn S. Terry, MS, DMD

It appears that the bonded retainer including adhesive was removed properly. A stream of air can be used to check if there is any adhesive still remaining. You did not mention why your upper permanent retainer was removed, hope you have an other type of retainer to maintain the results after completion of your orthodontic treatment. The upper and lower removable retainers should be worn at night indefinitely after a short time of full-time wear (3-6 months), as the teeth will shift or relapse over time. 

Whether braces will be ready to be removed will not will depend just on the alignment of the upper and lower teeth alone. There are no photos of how your teeth are coming together, or how your bite looks. Therefore, your orthodontist, or another orthodontist in your area should be the one who can tell you what is left to be done and what is the estimated remaining treatment time. Hope this helps.

With the 3 photos you provided, it is apparent that after 3 years of treatment you still do not have a proper bite. Without adequate intraoral photos, and facial and profile photos, it is impossible to give you any recommendations. Your orthodontist is your best source for this answer, or seek a second opinion from another orthodontist in your area. Your bite in the front should not be edge-to-edge as shown, but again without seeing you, there is no way to know if you position your lower jaw to edge-to-edge, or this is an actual bite you have. Most orthodontists provide free consultation and/or second opinion.

This depends on what problems you have that require braces, or orthodontic treatment. If doing partial braces is okay by your orthodontist, then the fee usually will be less than full braces. Your orthodontist should be able to explain to you if you should, or should not, do partial braces, depending on the diagnosis or the problem lists you have regarding your teeth and your bite.  

From the photo, it appears that your lower and upper teeth have shifted, especially the lower teeth. Can you still wear your upper retainer? You should schedule an appointment with your orthodontist and it is very likely that you will need a short treatment to correct the relapse of your teeth. I don't think that you will be scalded by your orthodontist, he or she should be happy to help you and probably will stress with you again how important to wear your retainers as instructed.