Overview of Cleaning Invisalign Retainers
Welcome on your journey to a confident smile!
You will be on the new way to a great smile in no time. All you have to do is to pay attention to the orthodontist’s instruction. You must be wondering where to start from and how to clean and take care of your Invisalign retainers.
It’s important to keep your retainers clean. The same bacteria that causes cavities and bad breath, starts growing on the retainers if they are not kept clean. Keeping them clean is very easy.
Gentle Cleaning
Remember to clean your aligners before wearing them. Clean your hand with soap and water. Handle one aligner at a time. Clean both the inside and outside of each aligner with teeth whitening solution or Alightener Foam products.
Do you need any special tool for that – what about a toothbrush? You should not use toothpaste as it can make tiny scratches on your aligners making it more prone to bacteria. The best thing to use is dish soap. It does a great job in cleaning your aligners. Gently brush your aligners – light brushing will help in keeping them clean.
Deep Cleaning
Sometimes you want deeper cleaning for your aligners. Mouth wash is a bad idea as it may stain your invisalign retainers. Instead, you can get denture cleaning tablets from a pharmacy, soak them in a glass of water for 20 minutes and they will make you feel fresh and clean. Unlike people who are carrying braces for their treatment, those using aligners can eat the same food with more enjoyment.
What to Do with Invisalign Retainers While Eating?
You should never eat food while wearing your aligners. This will not only stain them, but also food may get trapped and might cause tooth decay and/or irritate gums. So, it’s always better to take them out when eating.
How to Store Your Invisalign Retainer?
You should never wrap your aligners in a napkin, it is easy to forget them there and you may accidentally throw them out. Instead, keep them in a case given by your orthodontist. Always store your aligners in a case to prevent loss and damage.
Please remember to brush your teeth when you finish eating and before putting your aligners back to your mouth if you don’t want any remaining food particles to settle between your teeth and aligners for the next several hours.
Can You Drink Tea or Coffee with Your Retainers In?
Do you want to enjoy a coffee or tea break with your aligners in? Sorry, you shouldn’t. Drinking anything except water can stain your aligners. Eating or drinking anything with sugar in it can lead to tooth decay as well.
Ideally, you should brush and floss after every meal but if you don’t have a toothbrush with you, rinse your mouth and clean your aligners by holding them under running water.
How to Choose the Best Cleaning Product for Your Retainers?
Customers generally ask for the best retainer cleaning products. The market is flooded with different types of retainer cleaning products, including teeth whitening solutions, foams and much more.
White Teeth Global’s Alightener Foam is renowned for cleaning aligners and also whitening teeth with relatively no gum or tooth sensitivity. The product consists of hydrogen peroxide, which helps in brightening and whitening of teeth with noticeable results in only 2-3 weeks time when used regularly. It not only breaks up but also loosens large organic stain particles that cause discolouration of your teeth and retainers.
The best one for you depends on the condition of your teeth. You need to take certain things into consideration before choosing the best cleaning product that suits your Invisalign. They are:
Does your retainer already have heavy white plaque build-up?What type of retainer are you using?How often are you wearing your retainer?
How to Clean A Brand-New Retainer?
You should clean your retainer every single day with a product that kills bacteria and prevents white plaque accumulation. Bacteria build-up makes your retainer smell bad.
If your retainers are brand new or if they don’t have heavy bacterial plaque accumulation due to poor dental hygiene, you can use any of the retainer cleaning products available in the market. It all depends upon your lifestyle. If you travel and portability is important to you, retainer tablets is a good choice, and so on.
If you wear your retainers 24/7, you need to clean them several times a day. Nothing is worse than putting a smelly retainer back in your mouth.
Types of Retainers
There are mainly two types of removable retainers.
Essix Retainers: These retainers are made of plastic and are similar to the Invisalign aligners. Hawley Retainers: These retainers are made of acrylic and metal wire.
You should never brush invisible aligners or plastic Essix retainers. Brushing causes microscopic scratches in the plastic retainer and it will not be able to remain clean any more. Many teeth whitening/cleaning products and alightener gels are available for such type of retainers.
Some of the Hawley retainers are made of acrylic and metal wiring called metal solder. If your retainer consists of solder, you should never soak it because soaking will make solder crumble and fall apart. Many cleaning products are available today in the market. You can use a soft toothbrush for cleaning them.
If you are not sure whether your retainer contains solder, ask your dentist.
Now enjoy a feast with your friends, take photos with confidence! Invisalign retainer does not interfere with your social life the way braces do. It helps you to enjoy the confidence of your new smile.
Author’s Bio: Albin Davis is responsible for handling digital marketing for teeth whitening in Melbourne at ProSmiles. He believes that a healthy and sparkling smile is necessary to have an everlasting impact on social interactions. He combines his in-depth knowledge of the subject matter with creativity to write a compelling article on dental care solution that helps and educates his readers.