Patient tips

Keeping your retainer clean is just as important for maintaining proper oral health as cleaning your braces – perhaps even more so. The most common types of removable retainers are made from porous materials that can easily harbor bacteria.

Here are our top tips for making sure your retainer is as clean as possible:

• Don’t let your retainer dry out. Your retainer should always either be in your mouth, or soaking in a distilled water solution.
• Soak in baking soda. Instead of using effervescent tablets, we recommend using a simple mixture of distilled water and baking soda. If you wear your retainer at night only, soak during the day. If you are wearing it throughout the day, soak during mealtimes.
• Brush thoroughly. Soaking is not a replacement for brushing, so after soaking be sure to brush your retainer with toothpaste.

Often people make the mistake of boiling their retainer to disinfect it, which can cause melting and misalignment of your teeth – and the same goes for dishwashers.

By following the steps above, you can keep your retainer clean and make sure your smile is as healthy as possible.