Clear retainers maintain your smile after braces

Throughout orthodontic treatment, invisible aligners or braces slowly and gently straighten your teeth. However, your teeth will naturally want to return to their natural position. 

Clear retainers are crucial for maintaining the results of your orthodontic work. After braces or aligners, your teeth need time to stabilize in their new positions. A retainer ensures they stay aligned, preventing unwanted movement. It is a simple, effective way to protect the investment you have made in your smile. 

Speaking from personal experience, I’ve used a clear retainer after completing my invisible braces and the gap in my front teeth starts to reopen at the end of the day. The clear retainer I use at night closes the gap again at night. Dr. Pinto says, “Your teeth love to move. After spending months (or years) in braces or aligners, your teeth will naturally want to shift back to their old positions—it’s just how biology works.” 

Clear retainers are not just for braces patients

While the main use of clear retainers is after a braces treatment, Dr. Pinto recommends them even for patients with naturally straight teeth: “Ever notice how everyone’s grandparents have crowded and overlapping teeth, especially on the bottom? Teeth are constantly moving throughout your entire life and are one of the tell tale signs of age. If you love your smile, I recommend you get a retainer to keep it that way.” 

Retainers aren’t just for people who have done braces or Invisalign. They’re for anyone who wants to preserve their beautiful youthful smile for life. 

Clear retainers are more discreet than traditional metal retainers

Dr. Pinto also recommends clear retainers over metal: “I recommend clear 100% of the time, especially because at first, you’ll need to wear your retainer all day until your teeth settle into their new positions. Unless you want to go to that work meeting or cocktail party looking like an eighth grader with a mouth full of metal, go for the clear.”

Dr. Pinto’s tips for keeping clear retainers clean

• Never brush them with toothpaste: “This creates micro-scratches where bacteria love to hide, turning your beautiful retainer into a smelly dull discolored mess.”
• Rinse: “Always rinse them with fresh cold water when you remove them. Leaving bacteria harboring saliva or debris in your trays will turn them into something you don’t want to put in your mouth a lot faster than you think.”
• Avoid hot water:  “It can warp the plastic and ruin your retainer.”
• Soak in a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide solution: “You don’t need any fancy products to keep your trays looking great. Every morning, I rinse my retainers, place them in their case and pour in some water and a little hydrogen peroxide and let them soak during the day. At night, I rinse the case and trays in the sink before putting the retainers on. It’s been over a year and they still look great.”

Using an ultrasonic cleaner for clear retainers

Dr. Pinto says if you want super clean retainers, using a small ultrasonic cleaner once a week will do the trick: “It uses vibrations to clean out even the tiniest of scratches leaving your trays looking spotless. I bought one online that also had a built-in UV disinfecting light along with a 140pk of retainer cleaning tabs and spent less than $30. It’s worth it.”

If those tips don’t get your retainers clean, it is likely time to order a new one: “No matter how well you care for them, clear retainers don’t last forever. If yours are looking cloudy and gross, it might be time for a replacement,” explains Dr. Pinto.