My Orthodontic Retainers are staining my teeth.?

Question

I had my teeth straightened about 7 years ago and wore my retainers as required by my orthodontist. I am currently wearing my retainers every other night. When I remove my retainers in the morning I soak them in efferdent with warm water and leave them in there for 36 hours until I wear my retainers again. I of course rinse them thoroughly with water before putting them back in my mouth. The problem that I am noticing is that I have a stain on my front teeth that is basiacally a line going across the teeth where the retainers have been. I guess it has been developing for years. Is there a way to prevent this stain getting worse or cleaning it? Have I been doing something wrong with my retainers? Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

You should probably brush your retainer and not soak it for so long in the efferdent solution. The retainer has metal and doesn't need to be soaked in chemicals for long periods of time. It might cause corrosion of the metal retention pieces on it and I'm assuming that this is where it goes across your teeth at. Then when you place it, your transferring the corrosion to your teeth. Check your retainers metal parts well for corrosion by wiping it with a damp cloth to see if anything transfers. If it does and you can't clean it off, you may have to have a new one made. For the stains on your teeth, just try brushing for a week or so and see if they come off. If not then you may need to visit the dentist and have them clean the stains off with a more abrasive prophy paste. Hope I've been of some help and good luck.

You may want to take your retainer in to your dentist office and let them clean it in the ultrasonic with their solution to see if that stops the transfer of corrosion to your teeth. You won't need an appointment for this, just call ahead of time to see when it's convenient for someone to do it for you. Good luck!

Answer 2

Make sure the only thing you eat/drink with the retainers in is water. They didn't have this rule until recently, but it will make a differece! Also, I don't know what kind of retainer you have, but most kinds shouldn't be soaked in anything for a long time. It's bad for the retainer (I don't know if it has any effect on your teeth). Only a few minutes is better. Use an old brush and soap to brush it clean.