{"id":169,"date":"2025-05-01T20:16:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/?p=169"},"modified":"2025-06-30T20:18:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T20:18:41","slug":"4-maintenance-tips-retainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1-300x200.png\" alt=\"Close up of clear plastic retainer \" class=\"wp-image-171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1.png 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve finished your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/orthodontics.html\">orthodontic treatment<\/a> \u2013 awesome! But just as you were celebrating not having clear aligners or metal braces to worry about, your orthodontist handed you something called a \u201cretainer.\u201d What are you supposed to do with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A retainer will help you avoid needing retreatment by making sure your teeth stay in their new positions. Besides wearing it as instructed, you\u2019ll have to take good care of it so it can do its job! Follow these 4 maintenance tips, and you\u2019ll be a pro in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don\u2019t Eat with Your Retainer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you try to eat with your retainer still in your mouth, you could end up trapping leftover food particles and bacteria between the plastic and your teeth. While it\u2019s not exactly fragile, chomping down on something hard could also damage or warp your retainer. Finally, it\u2019ll start to match the color of the foods you eat, which, over time, starts to look and taste pretty gross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rinse and Brush Regularly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You might not be eating with it, but your retainer will still need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Give it a good rinse before putting it in your mouth and after removing it from your teeth, and set aside some time in the morning or at night to brush it with toothpaste. This way, your retainer won\u2019t harbor harmful bacteria \u2013 or icky flavors and odors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don\u2019t Soak It in Bleach or Boiling Water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Two things you should absolutely <em>not <\/em>clean your retainer with are bleach and boiling water. Bleach, alcohol-based products, and other harsh chemicals can damage your retainer (and your mouth, for that matter). Lava-hot water, meanwhile, will melt or warp the plastic, and you\u2019ll soon be in need of a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Visit Your Orthodontist for Replacements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless you melt your retainer, it should last for several years. That said, it can experience wear and tear over time, particularly if you have a bad habit of grinding your teeth. When it starts to look ragged or doesn\u2019t fit quite as well as it used to, it\u2019s time to visit your orthodontist for a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, taking good care of your retainer isn\u2019t that different from taking care of your teeth. Keep it clean and take steps to avoid breaking it, and you\u2019ll be good to go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/meet-the-doctors.html\">Arlington Heights Orthodontics &amp; Pediatric Dentistry<\/a> is fortunate enough to have two orthodontists and two pediatric dentists on staff. We can help patients of all ages take good care of their retainers \u2013 and their natural teeth! To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/contact.html\">contact<\/a> our friendly team with any questions or concerns, please call our office at 847-255-3020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve finished your orthodontic treatment \u2013 awesome! But just as you were celebrating not having clear aligners or metal braces to worry about, your orthodontist handed you something called a \u201cretainer.\u201d What are you supposed to do with it? A retainer will help you avoid needing retreatment by making sure your teeth stay in their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics &amp; Pediatric Dentistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics &amp; Pediatric Dentistry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1.png\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ahorthopeds\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc\"},\"headline\":\"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:16:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-30T20:18:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":475,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/image-1-300x200.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/\",\"name\":\"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/image-1-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:16:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-30T20:18:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc\"},\"description\":\"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/image-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/image-1.png\",\"width\":520,\"height\":347},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arlington Heights Orthodontics &amp; Pediatric Dentistry Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ahorthopeds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc\",\"name\":\"ahorthopeds\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry","description":"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry","twitter_description":"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1.png","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/"},"author":{"name":"ahorthopeds","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc"},"headline":"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:16:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-30T20:18:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/"},"wordCount":475,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1-300x200.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/","name":"4 Maintenance Tips for Taking Care of Your Retainer | Arlington Heights Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1-300x200.png","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:16:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-30T20:18:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc"},"description":"Not sure how to take care of your retainer? Read this post for 4 tips that\u2019ll make you a maintenance pro in no time.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/4-maintenance-tips-retainer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-1.png","width":520,"height":347},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/","name":"Arlington Heights Orthodontics &amp; Pediatric Dentistry Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/164f5c019e91a272cf4b000053ceb9dc","name":"ahorthopeds"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahorthopeds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}