Hydrogen Peroxide and Retainers

One of my favorite tips to give my patients is to keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide at home. It's an affordable cleaning and disinfectant to use for retainers. Soaking them once a day for an hour disinfects and prevents odor on clear Essix retainers and Invisalign aligners. The important thing is to always brush your teeth and make sure they are free of plaque and food debris before placing your retainers or aligners back on. Once the plaque and food contacts the retainers or aligners, its sticky surface will make it very hard to clean off. One side benefit to hydrogen peroxide is that it also fights gingivitis.