Cleaning your Retainer
Sooo I was thinking this might be kinda useful as when you first get your brace retainers the orthodontist kind of tells you what to do to keep them retainer clean, but it's a bit scary when you know that this little teeny bit of plastic costs around £82 and is keeping your teeth straight.
The retainer is so important that my orthodontist said if I lose/break it that I need to come back ASAP. As in a day or so to get another one as the teeth could begin to move back to their original positions that quickly. Crazy.
So I was given a box of this stuff.
Retainer Bright. I remember this stuff from when my little bro first had his braces off.
You just pop a tablet into a jug of COLD water and wait till it starts fizzing and turning the water blue. Then pop in your retainer/s and wait for around 15-20 or until the water has turned from blue to clear. It says on the Retainer Brite box to do this everyday, but I was told 2-3 times a week or as and when I deem necessary. The Retainer Brite is what gets rid of the gunk that makes your retainer look cloudy. The orthodontist nurse said this varies from person to person. At present I've only been doing it once a week or so. But I was told that once my retainer gets super cloudy it wont be possible to get it clear again so its better to use the Retainer Brite more often than not.
Once a week I am also supposed to sterilise my retainer/s. This is to keep them nice and clean. And to make sure any nasty bugs are killed so my retainer doesn't get smelly.
To do this I use Milton Sterilising Fluid. This is good stuff. At my old place of work we used to use this to get the stains off of the tea spoons. (I worked at a Doctors Surgery - They drink A LOT of tea!) So anywho, Milton is like.. bleach. But its safe to use for sterilising baby bottles etc so is fine for your retainer.
You just need to dilute it! So pour a tiny bit into a jug, bowl etc and top up with COLD water.
Please don't ever use hot or even warmish water to clean your retainer. I was told not to EVER. This can cause your retainer to melt or distort.
You should also never use toothpaste to clean your retainer as this will cause it to become brittle.
You just pop a tablet into a jug of COLD water and wait till it starts fizzing and turning the water blue. Then pop in your retainer/s and wait for around 15-20 or until the water has turned from blue to clear. It says on the Retainer Brite box to do this everyday, but I was told 2-3 times a week or as and when I deem necessary. The Retainer Brite is what gets rid of the gunk that makes your retainer look cloudy. The orthodontist nurse said this varies from person to person. At present I've only been doing it once a week or so. But I was told that once my retainer gets super cloudy it wont be possible to get it clear again so its better to use the Retainer Brite more often than not.
Once a week I am also supposed to sterilise my retainer/s. This is to keep them nice and clean. And to make sure any nasty bugs are killed so my retainer doesn't get smelly.
To do this I use Milton Sterilising Fluid. This is good stuff. At my old place of work we used to use this to get the stains off of the tea spoons. (I worked at a Doctors Surgery - They drink A LOT of tea!) So anywho, Milton is like.. bleach. But its safe to use for sterilising baby bottles etc so is fine for your retainer.
You just need to dilute it! So pour a tiny bit into a jug, bowl etc and top up with COLD water.
Please don't ever use hot or even warmish water to clean your retainer. I was told not to EVER. This can cause your retainer to melt or distort.
You should also never use toothpaste to clean your retainer as this will cause it to become brittle.
Have fun retaining :D
Im gettin braces off next thursday and this actually really helped me lol ive been worried about keeping my retainer clean cause im kind of a neat freak! :)
ReplyDeleteTheir main function is to keep teeth in position before or after dental braces, while also aiding the gums to adjust to the changes in the bone. They will always be custom-made especially for you and are usually made of wires or clear plastic.http://www.cronauerangelakisortho.com/retainers/
ReplyDeleteI bought retainer brite for my Invisalign trays and it has worked wonderfully to keep them CLEAR!
ReplyDeleteAnother useful post, My mom got braces in her 40s, at the same time that I was a teenager getting mine.
ReplyDeleteThank you this helped I just cleaned my retainers using the soap method and also I tried your method and it's worked for me.
ReplyDelete