Retainer Care recommendations from Dr. Boschken

My Dog Ate My Retainer!!

Once your braces come off you will be given a custom made removable retainer for your upper and lower teeth. Some instructions must be followed in order to keep from losing or breaking your retainer. The basic care for your retainer is as follows:

• Always place the retainer in the retainer case when not in your mouth, do not put in your pocket or leave lying around.
• Do not wrap the retainer in a napkin while eating. This increases your chances of losing it after a meal.
• Do not clean the retainer with hot water!
• And the one rule that seems to be the most important…KEEP RETAINER AWAY FROM PETS!

Although this rule is often overlooked when caring for your retainer, it’s true…Dogs love to eat retainers! It is no secret that dogs like to eat weird things, edible or not. Retainers, along with rubber duckies, cell phones, plastic toys and rocks, are among the variety of objects that dogs like to eat even when they definitely don’t taste good! They will eat them up and thoroughly enjoy it without you even noticing.
As proof that dogs like to snack on your retainer, our office decided to post a picture of a half eaten retainer which was brought in by one of our staff members. The retainer was left on her  dresser instead of in the retainer case (for less than a day) and her 2 year old cocker spaniel found her way up to the dresser to have herself an afternoon snack. For some odd reason, many pet owners find themselves in this situation. Although it seems like an odd hobby,  it is a fact that dogs love to get a hold of and chew/eat your retainer, so be careful not to leave your retainer out where small children or pets (especially dogs!) can get a hold of it. Not only will your teeth begin to move without the retainer in place, but in order to replace it, you will have to pay for a new retainer to be made.
So if you have lost your retainer and you think you have looked everywhere…maybe you haven’t looked EVERYWHERE…