For those people who do not have straight teeth, but they do want to have straight teeth, braces and retainers are very important to them. While braces are used to align the teeth which have misaligned, the retainers are used to complete the process of re-alignment of the teeth. Orthodontists would regularly check-up the status of your teeth once you get your braces done. When the teeth are aligned to their places properly, the braces are removed and, in their place, retainers need to be fixed to make sure that the teeth do not go back to their original alignment position (pre braces).
Just like braces, retainers are also of two kinds, metal retainers and plastic retainers. Depending on your choice, you can select any kind of retainer. The retainers which are preferred by people these days are the Clear Retainers. These retainers are made up of plastic instead of metal. And hence, they are very delicate and more prone to damage than the metal retainers. Although they have many advantages that they are transparent and hence, people would not notice that you are wearing them, but they do have the drawback of being delicate. Hence, it is important that you take proper care of them. Good care would also ensure that your retainers stay in shape for a longer period of time.
Taking care of the clear retainers is a very important, yet simple task. You just need to take care of some small things. Some tips to take care of your clear retainers have been discussed here:
• Keep your retainers clean. Time to time, you should remove them from the mouth and clean them. For cleaning, always use warm water. Too cold or too hot water should not be used as it might damage the plastic with which retainers are constructed. When your retainers would be clean, there would be lesser chances of bacteria sticking to them and hence, irritation in gums or teeth would not occur.
• When you are not wearing your retainers, keep them socked in a clear and clean container that is consisting of the cleansing solution. You can avail cleansing solution especially designed for retainers at the medical shop. Over the solution, it would be written in instructions as to for how much time you should soak the retainers.
• Once you have socked them in the cleansing solution, do not forget to rinse them with clean water before putting them up in your mouth. Again, use warm water only to rinse them.
• If you think that your retainers have got very dirty, you can use toothpaste and a mild toothbrush to clean them. But never use soap solution to clean your retainers as it might harm them. Also, bristles of the toothbrush must be very soft so that scratches do not appear on the retainer surface.