Cleaning retainers

[megz0501]

Hey! Last Wednesday I finally got my braces removed! Had them for 18 months. Anyway, I got clear retainers to wear everynight and I keep the clear one on, on bottom teeth all day except when eating. I know they told me to use clear mouthwash to clean the retainers, but it's super difficult to find clear mouthwash. What has your orthodontist recommended for you?

[Felina Grimm]

My ortho said to just use water, but my retainers stink so bad. So I use hand soap and a brush very slowly at least once a day and I soak twice a week with denture cleaner for 5 minutes.

[Prometheus]

Back when I had Invisalign (which didn't work for me, but that is another story) I used retainer brite, it works well. The owner of this message board, Lynn owns a website that sells it, along with other useful bits. You can find it here:

http://www.dentakit.com/retainerbrite.html

[FlyByNight]

I brush them with cool water every night before I put them in and use I am a Spammer about once a month.

[lundberg]

My orthodontist just recommended to brush them with water everyday and it will be fine. I sometimes used soap because water alone was not enough (regular hand soap).

[Beckett]

By the time I get my braces off we will have a total of 7 retainers in this house among 4 wearers. I'm seriously considering an ultrasonic cleaner contraption. Right now all the kids soak theirs in an effervescent denture cleaner thing, but I think the ultrasonic will work better. We will all have Hawleys, but I will have a backup pair of clear ones as well. I have to use those for the two weeks it takes for my regular ones to be made.

[jem]

I use retainerbrite once a week. On other days I brush my retainer with a soft toothbrush and bar soap. That seems to work well and no scratches on my retainer.

[djspeece]

I brush mine daily as directed by the dentist and soak them maybe once or twice a week. I am not concerned with scratches on the retainer (I have a Vivera and it seems very tough) because i only have to wear the retainer at night, and anyhow as soon as a little saliva gets in there they become completely transparent.