HOW TO CARE FOR AND WEAR YOUR RETAINER
(once your braces have been removed)
Your work isn’t done!
- Now that you have finished active treatment and are enjoying your beautiful smile, you may be thinking your work is over. Think again! You are entering the most important phase of your treatment – LIFETIME RETENTION! If you want to keep your teeth aligned, you must be compliant with wearing your retainer as instructed.
When to wear your retainer:
- Dr Mike will advise patients when to wear their retainer, based on what stage of treatment they are at. This may be:
- 24/7 during day AND at night while sleeping
- At night only
How to wear your retainer:
- Insert your retainer as instructed by our team
- Remove the retainer to eat and while brushing and flossing
- To avoid breakage of the retainer, place it in a retainer case when not in use.
- Keep retainer out of reach from pets (especially dogs, they will chew through the case to get to your retainer, even little dogs)
- Avoid placing retainer in tissue/napkin, as it often ends up getting thrown out by accident
- The safest place for your retainer is in your mouth!
- If you do not wear your retainer as recommended, your teeth will shift which could result in requiring braces again to realign teeth
- If retainer is not fitting well (ex. too loose, too tight, not seating properly) call office immediately to have assessed. Don’t wait till your next scheduled appointment to have it looked at.
How to clean your retainer/appliance:
- Clean your retainer/appliance by soaking it in cup of room temperature water with tablespoon of mouth wash for 1 min. Remove the retainer/appliance and gently brush it with a toothbrush. Avoid using toothpaste to clean it, as the abrasive particles in toothpaste will scratch and get embedded in retainer over time.
- Do not place the appliance under hot water because the acrylic will melt
- If your retainer becomes calcified, do not scratch at it. You can purchase retainer cleaning tablets from your local drugstore. Follow instructions on the package as recommended. If this does not resolve the issue, please bring it in to the office at your next appointment to be cleaned in our specialized tartar removing solution.