About brushing essix retainers

If you have finished with your orthodontic treatment and are wearing retainers (or will be soon), this is a special place to connect with others in your (enviable) situation. Ask a question or make a comment about life post-braces.

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eveningninja
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 11:27 pm

About brushing essix retainers

#1 Post by eveningninja »

I don't understand how I'm supposed to reliably keep my retainers clean if we're recommended not to brush them due to it causing scratching. I do soak them in efferdent denture cleaner things, but after I pull them out and rinse them off and look at them I still tend to see some plaque buildup or something on my retainers, so I give it a quick brush.

Is this wrong to do?

cindygale
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:11 am

#2 Post by cindygale »

Good question, I know exactly what you mean. They seem to get like a film on them. Not to mention the not so pleasant odors in the morning.

blindboarder2008
Posts: 943
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:43 pm
Location: in a house that has 4 walls, with lots of rooms!!! in Canada!

#3 Post by blindboarder2008 »

I've been using a very soft baby brush to clean mine. I brought it along with me to my ortho and he said that it was soft enough and shouldn't scratch it so you may want to try that out.

another question related to cleaning: how do you all clean your retainer containers?
Braced: March 19th 2008
Impacted wisdom teeth extraction surgery: June 20th 2008 1pm (13 hours of fasting)
Jaw surgery (upper and lower)Lefort 1 with Madable Advancement: June 2nd 2009 @8am!!!! 1 surgery down 2 surgeries to go!!
debrace day: jan 18th 2010!!!! *has 2 fixed retainers and an essix retainer for night time now!

bbsadmin
Posts: 3469
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 7:03 pm
Location: Northern California
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#4 Post by bbsadmin »

SonicBrite gets rid of the plaque buildup quickly and killls 99% of the germs. It's more effective than the denture cleaners (which, incidentally, can cause your clear retainer or aligner to yellow over time).
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!

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