After your braces come off, you will most likely be fitted with a retainer, a device designed to help keep your newly straightened teeth aligned. Custom-made to fit your mouth out of plastic and metal, your retainer is a vital part of your orthodontic care. A few simple steps can keep it clean and in great shape.
Instructions
1. Since the retainer spends (or should, anyway) most of its time in your mouth, it gets covered with saliva, plaque, bacteria and leftover particles of food floating around in there. This combination of things can result in a pretty stinky situation. Just like your mouth, your retainer needs to be cleaned every day to keep it clean and smelling fresh. Most retainers can be cleaned with regular toothpaste. After you're done brushing your teeth, just give your retainer a brushing—both top and bottom of the plastic piece, please.
2. To kill germs, you can soak your retainer in an antiseptic mouthwash like Listerine. Just pour a little bit of Listerine into a bathroom cup, drop your retainer in and let it soak for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Every week or so, it's a good idea to give your retainer a deep cleaning. To do so, you can use an effervescing denture-cleaning tablet. Follow the manufacturer's directions on the package. Alternatively, you can make a paste with 1 tsp. of baking soda and about 1 tbsp. of warm water and brush that onto your retainer using a soft-bristled toothbrush. Rinse well.
4. Because the plastic in your retainer can warp if it is exposed to high temperatures, keep your retainer away from heat sources like your radiator, a hot car, the clothes dryer (in the pocket of your pants, for example) or very hot foods or liquids.
5. Take care not to bite on or otherwise bend the wires of your retainer. Once the wires are bent, it will not fit the same way in your mouth.
6. Remember to always keep your retainer in its case when you are not wearing it or cleaning it. Putting it in its case will help protect it from cracking, getting chewed on by curious pets or getting lost.
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