How to Clean a Retainer with Vinegar

How to Clean a Retainer with Vinegar

The quick answer on how to clean a retainer with vinegar is to create a cleaning solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water. Place the retainer in the cleaning solution and let it soak for 20-30 minutes. Finally, remove the retainer and run it under warm water while cleaning it with a toothbrush.

Now that you know the 10 second answer, if you want more information or more detailed steps, keep reading.

Unlike brushing your teeth, you may not clean your retainer as often as you should. While it’s not the exact same as brushing your teeth, a retainer can often go months without a good cleaning, which isn’t ideal. In the following article, we’ll talk about the importance of regular cleaning and how to clean a retainer with vinegar.

We’ll be covering quite a few sub-topics in this article as well, so if you’d like to jump to any specific section in the article, just click any one of the links below to jump to that section:

• Why Clean a Retainer
• How to Clean a Retainer with Vinegar
• How Often to Clean a Retainer
• What to Use to Clean a Retainer
• Should I Clean My Retainer Case
• Can I Clean My Retainer with Mouthwash
• Do I Need to Replace My Retainer

Otherwise, you can jump right into the first section of why you should be cleaning your retainer.

Why Clean a Retainer

It’s not uncommon for a retainer to go weeks without cleaning. Most of us think a good rinse is enough to clean off the bacteria and plaque, but that’s not always the case.

Just as your teeth can start to see bacteria and plaque build-up, so can your retainer. And if it’s not being cleaned regularly, you are putting that plaque laden retainer directly into your mouth every night. It won’t come as a surprise that doing that will lead to bacteria in your mouth, cavities, and potentially even a root canal if it gets that bad.

That’s why regular cleaning of your retainer is so important. Just as we clean our teeth of bacteria and plaque, we need to do the same for our retainer.

Now that you know why cleaning a retainer is important, let’s talk about how to clean that retainer with vinegar.

Steps to Clean a Retainer with Vinegar

What does a mop, a refrigerator, and a retainer all have in common? The answer is that they can all be cleaned effectively with vinegar.

It’s no surprise that vinegar is a popular cleaning solution. We’ve written about it here a number of times, specifically about how to clean a mop with vinegar or how to clean your fridge with baking soda and vinegar. And there’s a reason, which is that vinegar is a fantastic cleaning solution.

First, you should know that white vinegar is best for cleaning. There is apple cider vinegar, but that’s better for cooking, instead of cleaning, so leave that one in the kitchen.

As mentioned in the how-to list, once you have your white vinegar, you’ll want to mix together the vinegar and warm water, about half and half in a small bowl or container. You don’t need a ton of the solution, just enough to submerge the retainer. Any kitchen or soup bowl will do fine as long as it won’t be damaged by the vinegar.

Take your retainer and soak it in the dish for about 20-30 minutes. The cleaning solution will automatically start working to dissolve the plaque build-up.

After about 20 or 30 minutes, take the retainer out and run it under hot water to rinse off the cleaning solution and any loose plaque or bacteria. If there’s a film that remains, run the retainer under warm water and use a soft toothbrush to scrub away any film or hard to remove plaque.

And there you have it. 35 minutes to clean your retainer with vinegar. It’s quick, easy, and effective and in the following sections we’ll talk about how often you should be cleaning your retainer and a few other common questions.

How Often to Clean a Retainer

A common question comes up when talking about cleaning your retainer, which is how often you should clean it. There are a couple things to note, which we’ll cover in this section.

First, you should be scrubbing your retainer with your toothbrush and toothpaste each morning after you take it out. During the night, your retainer collects your spit and bacteria and can already start collecting plaque. A quick scrub in the morning with your toothbrush and toothpaste will prevent that build up from happening in the first place.

Second, while you should be doing a quick scrub every morning, you should do a deeper clean about every 2 weeks. That deep clean is what we outlined above in the section, how to clean a retainer with vinegar.

Even if you’re scrubbing the retainer every morning with your toothbrush, plaque can still start to build up, so it’s important to do a deep clean with vinegar at least every 2 weeks.

Cleaning it more often than that isn’t necessary and can actually lead to deterioration faster than normal, so best to do a deep clean no more often than every 2 weeks.

What to Use to Clean a Retainer

You might hear about a lot of specialty tools out there to clean your retainer, but the truth is that you really only need your toothbrush. If it’s good enough for your teeth, it’s good enough for your retainer.

However, there are exceptions. If your retainer is particularly delicate or fragile, you might want to try scrubbing softer than normal. You can also get a soft-bristled toothbrush, which can help avoid any damage from tough scrubbing.

If you start to notice damage on the retainer, such as parts of it loosening or even worse chipping off, stop wearing it immediately and take it to the dentist to get fixed or replaced. You don’t want to be sleeping with your retainer and have part of the wire break off and damage your gums. Or part of the hard plastic chip off and fall into your throat.

That is rare, but it can happen especially if you are scrubbing it particularly hard on a daily basis.

Finally, always follow the instructions of your dentist. If they say to use something other than a toothbrush, or even better provide you with a specialized tool, do that instead. They know the retainer best and can provide you with the best instructions.

Should I Clean My Retainer Case

You can and should clean your retainer case regularly for a couple important reasons.

One thing that often happens is putting your retainer in the case each morning before it dries and you might start to see dirt and grime build up in your case. If that happens, you’ll want to clean that out to prevent it from touching your retainer. And there’s a couple reasons to do that.

First, it’s gross. If you’ve never cleaned your retainer case, you’re probably familiar with it looking gross. Dirt and grime build up on the inside and then you put your retainer right in the middle of it. You wouldn’t put your retainer on a dirty table and then in your mouth, so why put it in a dirty case and then in your mouth?

Second, that dirt and grime build up can actually transfer over to your retainer. Just like how if you put your retainer on a dirty surface, some of that dirt will transfer to your retainer, the same can apply to your retainer case. There’s a reason you have a case and don’t throw your retainer directly on the counter. It’s because the case is supposed to be clean and safe from dirt floating around in your bathroom or drawers.

That’s why it’s important to keep your retainer case just as clean as your retainer. If one is dirty, the other is likely to get dirty as well. So as a best practice, clean your retainer case as often as your retainer and make sure no dirt starts to build up.

After all, anything you see in your retainer case will make it to your mouth.

Can I Clean My Retainer with Mouthwash

It’s not a bad idea to clean your retainer with mouthwash, but you should also be scrubbing it each day with toothpaste to clean off that plaque build-up. Mouthwash is great at removing any bacteria and getting rid of any bad smell or taste, but it’s not a replacement for regular cleaning with a toothbrush.

If you’re going to clean it with mouthwash, the best way to do that is to put some mouthwash in a cup and rinse your retainer around the cup for about 20 seconds. That’s about the same length of time as swishing it around in your mouth and will kill any bacteria that’s left on the retainer and give it a nice, minty taste.

If you notice your retainer starting to smell or tasting less than ideal when you put it in your mouth, try rinsing it with mouthwash and see if that helps.

Since mouthwash was meant to kill bacteria and give your breath a minty smell, it makes sense that it would also apply to your retainer.

Just make sure not to rinse it with mouthwash too often because the alcohol in the mouthwash can cause long-term damage to the metal components in the retainer, like the wire.

Cleaning it once or twice a week with mouthwash isn’t detrimental, but cleaning it any more often than that can lead to issues down the road.

Do I Need to Replace My Retainer

There are instances when you might need to clean your retainer and it’s important to know when that happens.

First of all, if your retainer breaks or starts to become more flimsy, you will want to talk to your dentist about replacing it. Having it break in your mouth can cause damage, such as the wire scrapping against your teeth or gums, causing them to bleed.

Second, having your retainer start to chip as it gets older is a sure sign that it should be replaced. The hard plastic can cause damage and you don’t want any piece of it breaking off in your mouth while you’re sleeping.

Finally, always talk to your dentist if you think something is going on with your retainer. Ultimately they have the most knowledge about the retainer and any potential issues and solutions. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your dentist. They get questions like this all the time and can quickly provide a helpful solution.

Conclusion

And there you have it! We covered quite a few topics in this article related to cleaning your retainer and hopefully they answered your initial question and more. Let’s recap.

First, we answered the question of how to clean a retainer with vinegar. We outlined specific steps you can take to keep your retainer clean and sparkling. You’ll want to do this type of deep clean once every 2 weeks to keep it in tip-top shape.

Second, we covered how often to clean a retainer and what you can use to clean it. You’ll want to clean it quickly every day with a toothbrush to clean off that plaque and bacteria from the night before and then do a deep clean once every 2 weeks to prevent any long-term plaque build-up.

Finally, we answered some common questions about cleaning your retainer case as well as cleaning your retainer with mouthwash if you want a minty taste each night.

Hopefully this article was helpful in answering your questions about cleaning your retainer. If you have any further questions, feel free to do some additional Googling and most importantly, reach out to your dentist. They are the most knowledgeable about your retainer and can provide the best advice.

Keep that retainer clean in the future!