Disinfect and Clean Retainers
Your mouth harbours a lot of bacteria, so naturally, your retainer does as well. Because your retainer is in your mouth for such long periods of time, it easily collects gunk like bacteria, plaque, and tartar. Excessive buildup of plaque or bacteria can potentially ruin your retainer, or even worse, make you sick. While it might seem tempting to skip cleaning your retainer, it’s crucial that you clean it every day to avoid these potential negative effects.
Simply follow these steps:
- 1
Mix ½ cup Hydrogen Peroxide 3% - Oxygen PlusTM with ½ cup water in a bowl.
- 2
Put your retainer into the bowl and let it soak for 30 minutes.
- 3
Remove your retainer and rinse with fresh water.
Although hydrogen peroxide is a chemical, it’s completely non-toxic and contains no chlorine, alcohols, acids, or other dangerous chemical additives found in traditional cleaning products. It’s especially important to choose a non-toxic product to clean your retainer because retainers soak up whatever product you’re using, and when those harmful chemicals sit on your teeth for hours on end, they can cause damage to your teeth. While hydrogen peroxide is a powerful disinfectant, it’s very gentle, too and biodegrades into just oxygen and water. It’s very similar in composition to water (H20)—the difference is that hydrogen peroxide (H202) contains an extra molecule of oxygen. It’s a safe option for your whole family, adults and children alike.
Clean your retainer every day to keep it clean and germ-free.