Taking Care of Your Retainers
Taking care of your mouth is very important, this includes the tools or devices that are used like dentures or retainers. They must be taken cared of to make sure than no bacteria will enter into the mouth.
Retainers are used to hold teeth structure in place after braces, and this is to be worn everyday. So with that in mind they must be cleaned regularly so that it will last a long time and not spend more money. In this article, we will see 3 ways to clean retainers.
1. When taking a shower, take your retainer with you and clean it also. Use a toothbrush and toothpaste. Take a soft brush and brush your retainers gently all around, and then rinse it with water and dry it with towel or tissue and replace it in the container to be used the next day.
2. Wash or soak your retainers for few minutes in mouthwash for at least once a week to sanitize your retainers.
3. If there is stain build up, soak retainer in water and vinegar solution for few minutes and stain will come off.
What You Should Not Do to Your Retainers
1. Do not leave your retainers on the table when not in use. It might get lost or be thrown away along with other rubbish when someone cleans the table. You will have to spend money again to replace it.
2. There should be a small plastic box to put your retainers when you are not using it to avoid damaging it.
3. Do not soak your retainers in hot or boiling water to kill bacteria, it will distort the shape of your retainers. Regular cleaning is enough.
4. If you want to remove your retainers, remove it with your 2 hands. And hold it carefully so you will not drop and break it.
5. If your retainer is damaged or defective do not do any alteration. You should take it to your dentist to check and fix it. If you will do it by yourself you may damage it further.