Retainers After Treatment: Cleaning, Wear and Keeping Your Result

To clean a clear retainer, rinse it, brush it gently inside and out with a soft toothbrush, and soak it regularly in a retainer or denture cleanser, using cool or lukewarm water only. Rinsing alone is not enough: studies show bacteria stay on the plastic unless it is brushed or soaked. Cleaning matters because you will wear your retainer for a long time. Teeth keep changing throughout life, and the retainer is what holds the result your treatment achieved.

Why teeth drift after treatment

When treatment ends, the bone and fibres around each tooth are still settling into their new positions. Teeth also keep changing with age, in people who never had braces as much as in those who did. Without support, they tend to drift, most often as crowding of the lower front teeth.

Retainers make a measurable difference. A study followed 42 patients for an average of 17 years after treatment; all had been out of treatment for at least 10 years (Oh et al., The Angle Orthodontist):

• Most results held. 81% of upper and 88% of lower front teeth were still within the clinically acceptable range of alignment.
• Retainers mattered. Patients with a fixed lower retainer showed almost no change in their lower front teeth: 0.06 mm on average, compared with 0.9 mm in those without one.
• Age plays a part. Some of the change matched what happens with age in people who were never treated.

In short, treatment creates the result and the retainer keeps it.

How to clean a clear retainer

1. Rinse it in cool water as soon as you take it out, so saliva does not dry on the plastic.
2. Brush it gently inside and out with a soft toothbrush, every day. Use a separate brush from the one you use on your teeth.
3. Soak it regularly in a retainer or denture cleanser, following the product’s directions, then brush and rinse again before wearing.
4. Let it dry and store it in its case whenever it is out of your mouth.

The evidence supports brushing plus a cleaner over water alone:

• Water alone left the most bacteria. In a 2023 trial, 23 retainer wearers tried a different method each week. Rinsing with running water left significantly more bacteria than every other method. Brushing with toothpaste, brushing with soap, brushing with water and soaking in cleansing tablets all did better, with no significant difference between them (Halawani et al., Australasian Orthodontic Journal).
• Brushing alone was not enough either. In a 2019 study of 21 retainer wearers, adding peroxide cleansing tablets or vinegar to brushing lowered bacteria on the retainer compared with brushing alone (Akgün et al., Turkish Journal of Orthodontics).

What to avoid:

• Hot or boiling water, dishwashers and hot cars. Clear retainers are shaped from plastic with heat, and heat can warp them so they no longer fit.
• Bleach and harsh household cleaners. They can damage the plastic and are not meant for anything that goes in your mouth.
• Gritty toothpaste and hard scrubbing. Scratches cloud the plastic and give bacteria more places to hold on. If you use toothpaste, use a small amount of a smooth one with a soft brush.

Wearing your retainer day to day

• Wear it as prescribed. Your wear schedule is set for your case at the end of treatment, and it may change over time. If you are unsure, ask rather than guess.
• Take it out to eat and drink anything but water. Food and sugary drinks trapped under the plastic sit against your teeth.
• Keep it in its case. Most lost retainers are wrapped in a napkin at a meal and thrown away. Pets also find them easily.
• Bring it to your check-ups. We check the fit and the condition of the plastic, and replace it when it wears.

Call us if:

• your retainer cracks, warps or no longer clicks into place;
• it feels tight after a few nights without it, which can be a sign that teeth have started to move;
• you lose it. Replacing it quickly matters, because teeth can start to move once nothing is holding them.

Our Contact page has our phone number and hours.

Keeping the result is part of the plan

At Smile Elements, retention is part of your treatment plan, not an afterthought. Your result depends on the plan more than on the plastic, and because we design and make aligners and retainers in our own Calgary lab, the same team that planned your treatment makes the retainer that keeps it. Dr. Hisham Badawi is a specialist orthodontist with a PhD in orthodontic biomechanics from the University of Alberta.

Teeth shifting after earlier treatment?

If your teeth have moved since braces or aligners years ago, a consultation will show what has changed and what can be done. Book a consultation at our NW Calgary office.

References

1. Oh H, Ma N, Feng PP, et al. Evaluation of posttreatment stability after orthodontic treatment in the mixed and permanent dentitions. The Angle Orthodontist. 2016;86(6):1010-1018.
2. Halawani MR, Aloyouny AY, Al Rashoud D, et al. Analysis of the growth of dental plaque on the surface of orthodontic vacuum-formed retainers following the use of different cleaning methods. Australasian Orthodontic Journal. 2023;39(1):55-60.
3. Akgün FA, Şenışık NE, Çetin ES. Evaluation of the efficacy of different cleaning methods for orthodontic thermoplastic retainers in terms of bacterial colonization. Turkish Journal of Orthodontics. 2019;32(4):219-228.

Lost or broken retainer, or one that no longer fits? See retainers at Smile Elements in NW Calgary.