Retainer Care Guide: Keeping Your Smile Straight & Healthy

After putting in the time wearing braces, more times than not, you get a retainer to help your teeth stay straight. While the retainer's job is to keep your pearly whites in line, your job is to take care of the retainer by making sure it's clean, safe and in one piece, especially since most orthodontists will charge for each retainer replacement.

Instructions

• 1

  Remove your retainer whenever you are eating, brushing your teeth or flossing. These three actions, if performed with the retainer in your mouth, can put extra stress on the retainer and possibly cause it to break or weaken.

• 2

  Keep your retainer in the case provided by your orthodontist. Often people wrap their retainer in a tissue or napkin when they are eating. Doing so can increase the risk of loss. You might forget you wrapped it up and toss the tissue and your retainer into the trash. Besides, wrapping it up and putting it on a tray or a table is unsanitary.

• 3

  Brush your retainers daily. Brushing your retainer each time you brush your teeth is a good habit to get into. Get a separate toothbrush for your retainer and give it a good scrubbing to get it clean and then rinse it under cold water.

• 4

  Soak your retainers. At least once a month, put a denture cleaning tablet in a cup of water and give your retainer a good soak. After soaking, be sure to rinse it completely. The most common brands of denture cleaners are Efferdent and Polident.