Look after your retainer
At the end of treatment, you will receive removable retainers that we will ask you to wear full time for 2-4 weeks before going to part time wear. This is an important part of treatment as it will allow your teeth to settle into their new position. If you do not wear your retainers, your teeth will likely move back and you wouldn’t want this!
Regularly wearing your retainers means you need to keep them clean and fresh. Luckily, this is really easy to do and takes very little time. When you remove your retainers, gently clean them with a soft toothbrush and cold water. Do not use hot water as this can cause the retainer to warp and it will no longer fit you. You don’t need to use toothpaste, just a gentle clean with cold water will keep them clean. Using toothpaste can cause very tiny scratches in the retainer providing more areas for bacteria to grow.
A couple of times per week, you should put your retainers into a small bowl with some cold water and add a cleaning tablet. At the practice, we recommend ‘RetainerBrite’ but there are other ones you could use that all do the same job and work the same way. Add the cleaning tablet to the water and leave the retainers to soak for around 15 minutes. This will remove any bacteria and keep your retainers feeling fresh and clean.
Every week, check your retainer to make sure there are no cracks appearing and if you notice any problems, get in touch and we can make you a new set. If you look after your retainer, it should last you several years helping you to keep your teeth straight long into the future.