Honestly, I used to think my morning breath was just "normal," but after switching to cleaning my retainer with those fizzy tablets every night, it made a huge difference. Funny thing is, my partner noticed before I did—less complaining about my "toxic cloud" in the mornings. Has anyone else tried soaking their retainer in mouthwash? I heard mixed things about whether that's good or not, so I just stick to the tablets now. Curious if anyone’s dentist actually recommended a certain cleaning routine, or is it mostly trial and error for everyone?
I get where you’re coming from—those fizzy tablets really do make a difference. I’ve actually asked my dentist about the mouthwash thing, and she was pretty firm: no soaking retainers in mouthwash, especially anything with alcohol. Apparently, it can mess with the plastic and even make it more porous, which is kind of gross when you think about bacteria. I stick with the tablets or just gentle soap and a soft brush. Trial and error’s fine, but I’d rather not risk warping my retainer... learned that the hard way once.
That’s actually super helpful—never thought about the plastic getting more porous from mouthwash, but it makes sense now that you mention bacteria. I’ve always wondered if just rinsing with water was enough, but I guess those fizzy tablets are worth sticking to. I did try using a regular toothbrush and gentle soap once, but I got paranoid about scratching the retainer. It’s kind of wild how much trial and error goes into something as basic as keeping your breath under control... Thanks for sharing what your dentist said; it takes some of the guesswork out of it.
