How should I keep my Invisalign retainers clean?

How should I keep my Invisalign retainers clean?

Whether you’ve recently started Invisalign treatment to straighten your teeth or are already wearing Invisalign retainers to keep your smile – you will want a daily care routine to keep them clean. As your plastic aligners and retainers cover the entire surface area of your teeth, when wearing them – you are essentially doubling the area that potentially harbors bacteria and cavity-causing substances.

Fortunately, there are several ways to keep your retainers clean at varying levels of cost and convenience.

What shouldn’t I use to clean my retainers?

While it may seem convenient, you should not use toothpaste to brush your retainers. Toothpaste is designed to be mildly abrasive to gently remove debris and polish your teeth, which might be too abrasive for the flexible plastic used to make retainers. Additionally, the tiny particles in toothpaste can easily be stuck inside small corners and details of the Invisalign aligners. Finally, depending on the type of toothpaste, it may even stain the aligners and no longer allow them to be "invisible" since they will not be fully clear.

Another common method to avoid is soaking your retainers in mouthwash. Since mouthwash often contains a small amount of coloring, this significantly stains your aligners and makes your teeth look tinted blue or green when you are wearing the aligners. Additionally, the specific ingredients in mouthwash may harm the plastic aligners over long-term use (such as soaking throughout the day if you only wear Invisalign retainers at night).

What’s the simplest method to keeping my aligners and retainers clean?

Across all our patients, we’ve noticed the most consistently clean and trouble-free retainers are from those that keep it simple! A spare toothbrush and mild soap are all you need to keep the retainers clean. A daily brushing routine with either hand soap (free of particulate additives and strong scents) or mild dish soap (such as Dawn) keeps any buildup away and your retainers/aligners clear. The one downside to this method is that it requires an additional brushing routine on top of your existing one to brush your own teeth!

If you are using this method, we recommend keeping a separate toothbrush specifically for brushing your aligners, as this keeps toothpaste residue away from your aligners and soap residue out of your mouth.

What’s a more convenient way to keep my aligners and retainers clean?

One of the more convenient methods for daily retainer cleaning is to use cleansing tablets such as “Retainer Brite” or Invisalign's own "Cleaning Crystals." These products allow you to place your retainers in a cup of water along with the product to create a cleansing solution that typically has your retainers cleaned in 10-20 minutes. While these are designed for convenient daily use, we recommend brushing the retainers at least once a week with mild soap to maintain your retainer at its best.

What about using an ultrasonic cleaner to keep my retainers clean?

You certainly can use an ultrasonic cleaner to maintain your retainers. In fact, that's what we use in our dental office! We recommend that everyone who wears retainers bring them to their local dentist during their regular 6-month visits for typical cleanings. Most local dentists will happily place your retainers in their ultrasonic cleaner in a special solution while you get your teeth cleaned. We have also recently noticed new personal dental products: small, retainer-sized ultrasonic cleaners dedicated to cleaning your aligners and retainers.

Conclusion

While these devices likely work very well, it is important to consider their monetary cost and sustainability impact when compared to the other simpler methods. With a cost of around $100 for these ultrasonic devices, a patient could also purchase about 2 years' worth of retainer cleansing tablets – meaning the product would need to last at least 2 years to break even with simple tablets. The ultrasonic cleaners may also need a solution or tablet to get their best clean for your retainers. Finally, responsible disposal should be considered when the product eventually stops working.

If brushing is too much of a chore, ultrasonic cleaners can definitely get you a great clean retainer, but it is important to consider the costs of that convenience.

If you are looking for Invisalign services in Winter Park, send us your questions or schedule an appointment.

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