A 22-year-old female asked:
What is the best way too clean your plastic retainer?
4 doctor answers • 9 doctors weighed in
Dr. Joshua Battanswered
Emergency Medicine 10 years experience
Retainer Cleaning: Here are a few simple ways to clean your retainer:
1. Rinse with water and apply friction with your fingers
2. Use your toothbrush, water and paste
3. Purchase a denture cleaning kit, it works perfectly for this.
4.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Nathaniel Chananswered
21 years experience
Rinse, brush often: You should brush your retainer every time you brush your teeth. You should try to rinse or brush your retainer every time you eat. If there is build up, you could try soaking it in mouthwash or denture cleaners.
4.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Howard Spectoranswered
Orthodontics 41 years experience
Cleaning retainers: The best way to clean your orthodontic retainer is with a cleanser designated specifically for that purpose. There are several "over-the-counter" products available, including "retainer-brite" and efferdent cleanser. Another option is simply to brush your retainer with warm water using a toothbrush. On occasion, an antibacterial hand soap is useful, but be sure to wash it well afterwards!
4.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Robert Douglas commented
Orthodontics 52 years experience
I give all my patients a Retainer Brite sample to get them started. If not available locally, you can get it on line.
Sep 11, 2016
Dr. Arnold Malermananswered
Orthodontics 54 years experience
Carefully: Sorry, couldn't resist that very bad joke. Recommend that our patients gently brush retainers, metal and plastic with a soft toothbrush 2x/day (do not use toothpaste as it can scratch the plastic). That will get rid of the bacteria clinging to the outside of the retainers. For microbes that penetrate into the lattice structure of the plastic, use Denture Cleaner 1x/day as per pkg instructions.
2.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Sep 11, 2016
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