I lost my retainers and later found them to be in the trash can. It was wrapped around in a napkin. What should I use to wash it? Would regular soap be OK?
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Wow, Carro....I think you should probably call your orthodontist for this one. Soap and hot water might be fine...but to be safe, call your orthodontist :):)
I'd try soaking them in Listerine. If that kills germs in your mouth, it should also kill germs from the trashcan.
I once put my son's retainer in boiling water to disinfect it and ruined it. Ask your orthodontist for best cleansing procedure.
The same thing happened at a restaurant I worked at several years ago. A big family had a dinner & the daughter had a retainer she put in a paper dinner napkin, that got thrown out with the trash after the meal was over & they'd left. The Asst. Manager was the unlucky person to have to search thru that night's trash bags for the retainer.
I would wash with warm soapy water and then soak in room temp Vinegar! That is how we treat nebulizer pieces. Vinegar is a disinfectant. It can be white or cider.
This is a plus as it is also a deodorizer.
My granddaughter who has a retainer soaks hers in Polident.
Wash them in warm ( not hot) soapy water and soak in vinegar or do as my grand daughter does hers and use Polident for dentures for soaking her retainer.
Garbage cans can be the worst harborers of germs of every possible kinds. Don't rely on anything other than boiling water, if the retainer is wire. If plastic, call the orthdontist for some solution to buy. Reg. soap will NOT be reliable for the most harmful germs, virus, fungus, etc. You'd not want to get TB or worse, so be very cautious. It's your health and could be your life at stake. Good luck and God bless you. : )
Can you use hand sanitizer to get germs off a partial that I dropped in the garbage disposal
I would wash it with very hot water and dish soap. You could even run it through the dishwasher to sanitize it. I wouldn't use hand sanitizer in a case like this.
wash it as you would your hands with antibacterial soap, rinsing well and stick it in the mouth...whenever something like this happens, I always think of those clips you see on TV where the people from "wherever" live in the worse proverty and filth and you know what...they survive!! A little trash can is never going to kill you...
The best solution would be to take it to the dentist's office. They have a solution that they can soak it in, used daily for everything they can't autoclave with heat, and in eight hours it gets things STERILE. They have very good test data done by the EPA to prove that known pathogens are killed completely by the glutaraldehyde solutions when used properly.
My son's puffer suffered the same accident. We were told to wash it with hot soap and water (which gets rid of most of the germs), then rub a good amount of hand sanitizer all over it (making sure to get in the cracks). Let the sanitizer dry thoroughly and then rinse in warm water. Hand sanitizer is basically gelled alcohol, which kills just about all viruses and bacteria.
I would just use a toothbrush and dish detergent and clean it really well. Do NOT use warm water, it will warp the plastic on your retainer!
Soaking your retainer in baking soda water works really well to clean your retainers and get rid of oders.
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