Do you have to brush your teeth before putting in your retainer?

After you’re done eating, try to brush your teeth before putting the retainer back on. That helps to prevent food from getting lodged between the retainer and your teeth. If brushing isn’t possible, at least rinse out your mouth.

Can I drink while wearing a retainer?

Your retainer should be intact and well-fitting to hold your teeth in position. Avoid fizzy drinks, sports drinks and flavored water, including diet varieties, fruit juices and diluting juice whilst wearing your retainers. Still plain cold water is ok to drink with retainers in.

Is wearing a dirty retainer bad?

However, many retainer wearers go for long stretches of time without cleaning these devices. The same bacteria that build up on teeth can grow on a retainer. As a result, putting an unclean retainer in your mouth is like applying a bacteria and plaque-laden solution to the teeth and gums.

Can you sleep with retainers on?

Should I wear my retainer while sleeping? Yes, you should always wear your retainer at night while you sleep. In the beginning of retainer wear, you’ll wear it around the clock, but to ensure your smile stays straight for a lifetime, you’ll want to continue wearing your retainer at night forever.

Can I just wear my retainer at night?

After eight weeks of wearing your retainers for half of each day, with the approval of your orthodontist, you can begin wearing your retainers at night only. Wearing them more often than just at night is never a bad thing though, as long as you’re taking them out to eat and cleaning them properly.

Will my teeth move if I only wear my retainer at night?

No, it won’t be bad if you still want to wear it during the day. It’s perfectly fine to do so if that’s what you choose to do. A ‘night’ would probably be assumed to be 8+ hours which is the average amount of time that a person sleeps, so at a minimum try to wear your retainers for 8 hours each day.

Will my teeth move if I forgot to wear retainer one night?

Yes. A retainer is exactly that, a retainer. Therefore, if you forget to wear it for a day or so, your teeth may shift just slightly during that time, making the retainer tight or hard to insert. However, once you have it in, it will move the teeth back to the position they were in at the time the retainer was made.