Congratulations! You did it… you are finished with braces!

Your smile looks beautiful, to keep you smile beautiful forever it is important to WEAR YOUR RETAINERS. We like to think of retainers as the last phase of braces.

Cleaning your retainers: Just like your teeth, plaque builds up on retainers. At first this plaque is soft and easy to remove. Over time it hardens and becomes much harder to remove. This means the easiest way to keep your retainers clean is to clean them every single day while the plaque is still soft. It is as simple as brushing the retainer with a tooth brush and water – DO NOT USE TOOTHPASTE – Toothpaste is gritty which is good for your teeth, but will scratch the retainers. To get an extra deep clean of the retainers you can purchase retainer specific cleaner or denture cleaner. You can also dilute hydrogen peroxide and soak the retainers or even wash them with liquid dish soap, but be sure to rinse them well with water before placing them back in your mouth!

The clear retainers are made of plastic and will melt in extreme heat: avoid leaving them in a hot car. Do not boil them or run them through the dishwasher.

Do NOT wrap your retainers in a napkin at a restaurant or cafeteria, they usually end up in the trash if you do.

Keep retainers out of reach of pets – Dogs and Cats (and probably even a hamster) will eat them! They are probably safe around your pet fish.

If they are not in your mouth we recommend that you keep them in the case to protect them. They can be distorted and/or broken.

If retainers are damaged or lost and you will have to purchase replacement retainers to prevent your teeth from shifting!

Make sure the retainers go all the way down over your teeth. If they are not fully seated the teeth could still move.

If your retainers are ever tight, it is probably OK, it just means that your teeth have shifted a small amount during the time that you were not wearing the retainers. Once the retainer is placed back over the teeth the tightness is just the retainer moving your teeth back to their perfect place! If you experience this it just means that your teeth are not ready for long breaks from retainer wear! Don’t worry, you will get there in time, but for now wear your retainer more! If you can’t get your retainer to fit all the way down over your teeth, Call to schedule an appointment before your teeth shift!

For best results remember

“Night time for life time”