Keep Retainer in Water?

[bbsadmin]

One of our new members raised an interesting question. She has a Hawley retainer, which she only wears at night. She was told by her orthodontist to keep her retainer wet when it is not in her mouth. So, she tries to keep it in water when she is not using it.

I was wondering how common this is among our members. I have never been told to keep my Hawley wet. And in fact, all retainer cases have aeration holes to let the air in so that the retainer can dry when it's in its case!

Anyone care to comment?

[swellen]

I'd have to wonder about the bacteria issues of keeping it wet, especially when considering the bacteria content of most of our mouths!

Well, if you cleaned it with mouthwash or denture cleaner or something and then put it in clean, fresh water there shouldn't be a problem with bacteria. I leave mine soaking in water for the day after I clean it, just to get all of the denture-cleaner taste off it.

My suspicion about this is that orthodontists tell people to keep the retainer wet to guard against people leaving it on a sunny windowsill for two weeks and having it dry out totally and crack in the sun. Not that we would ever do that, since we are (or will be) such diligent retainer wearers!

[brazilianhottie]

The gov't medical information system
medline plus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/orthodontia.html
produced the following results:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_proble ... iners.html
"Because the plastic of your retainer can crack if it gets too dry, you should always soak it when it isn't in your mouth. Plastic can warp easily, so don't put it in hot water or leave it near a heat source - like on your radiator, for example. Finally, do not bend the wires. Flipping the retainer around in your mouth will cause the wires to bend."

Alhtough , that is the only place where this is mentioned. It makes sense to me. My retainer certainly fits tighter if it is dry. My question would be has anybody actually tested what time period is safe to leave a retainer dry and not cause cracking/brittleness/shrinkage.

[Attagirl2]

Hi, I may be late with my answer, but I wore a night guard (specially made for me) for years. My dentist told me to keep it in water during the day, so that it would not dry out. Keeping it wet during the day would deffinately extend the life of the appliance - and it does make a difference. I would even go so far as to wrap it in a wet paper towel if I was traveling and when I got to my destination, clean it and place it in water.