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How do you floss under a retainer?

March 14, 2016 By Trish Walraven 17 Comments

It used to be such a dread, seeing patients with fixed lingual retainers. I mean, they’re great because they keep your teeth from shifting after you’ve had braces, but GAWRSH, do they have to be so difficult to floss around?

Not any more.

Thanks to the talented hygienists over at Hygiene Edge we now can share this super-easy secret with patients as well!

Here’s how you do it:

It’s embarrassing to say this, but it took me over 20 years as a dental hygienist to find out about this trick, so now I’m thrilled to see lingual retainers on patients because it gives me a chance to share this newfound secret. That’s why I’m sharing it here, too. And as for you poor folks whose retainers are glued to each and every front tooth? I’m sorry, this trick doesn’t work. You’ll just have to stick it to ’em instead:

gum-soft-picks

 

 

 

 

Remember, it’s all about friction. Whatever gets in there is good by me.

 

A blogger since 1997, Trish Walraven, RDH, BSDH is a mom and practicing dental hygienist in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Her mission with DentalBuzz is to offer a fresh podium of discourse for those involved in dentistry and to expose fun in our professional lives.

Filed Under: Operative Dentistry, Preventive Care Tagged With: dental hygiene tricks, floss threaders, Flossing under retainer

Comments

  1. Katherine says

    March 14, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    Thank you!!!!

    Reply
  2. dentist in warwick ri says

    April 6, 2016 at 11:22 am

    Thanks for the tip! One thing I like to try is swishing the water through my teeth into the sink to dislodge some of the looser gunk lol

    Reply
  3. Ajit D says

    June 11, 2016 at 12:28 am

    I have been using braces, it is difficult to use floss in general rule. But following your trick it becomes quite easy. Thank you very much for sharing the excellent tricks.

    Reply
  4. Alex Yong says

    June 29, 2016 at 8:03 am

    Good edu piece on flossing under a retainer.

    Reply
  5. Steffany Mohan says

    July 8, 2016 at 6:16 am

    Absolutely once the floss is done under the wire,it can be moved up and down the sides of the adjacent teeth to remove plaque as normal.

    Reply
  6. Susan Millar says

    July 29, 2016 at 3:16 am

    Multifilament Floss is one of the best ways I recommend to go for due to its affordability and ease of use. The trick mentioned here is nice indeed!

    Reply
  7. chrisvon says

    August 17, 2016 at 2:14 am

    Thank you for sharing the technique when flossing under a retainer. i’m going to undergo treatment for my retainer at alexandria va dentist their dental treatment and dental health assistance is well commendable. After doing the dental treatment, I’ll do this trick. Bookmarked this page.

    Reply
  8. Ashley Woods says

    August 30, 2016 at 2:22 am

    Good tip! Teeth have a tendency to move back to their original positions. So, retainers are really important. But then, so is flossing. Glad you shared this to make it easier to floss with retainers!

    Reply
  9. Christie Martinez says

    November 6, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    If you don’t have any pre-made floss threaders on hand, you can make your own. This method will work well with permanent retainers bonded to the two end canine teeth since you will be able to more effectively move the floss around.

    Reply
    • Jfj says

      January 14, 2017 at 10:12 am

      I’m sending this video to my orthodontist and my DH! Hope they pass it along! If someone WANTS to keep their teeth for a lifetime… they will use this tip! I also use the tint periodental brushes but this gets the contact surfaces AND THE FRONT AND BACK GUM LINES!

      Reply
  10. PCI Health Training Center says

    December 2, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    This is great information. I usually take off the retainer to floss but this works too!

    Reply
  11. CiCi Elle says

    April 6, 2017 at 1:10 pm

    I recently started a treatment plan with invisible aligners and plan to get a permanent retainer in once I complete my plan. I wasn’t sure how to floss with it in!

    Reply
  12. Den Joseph says

    June 8, 2017 at 1:54 am

    Don’t you think flossing can enlarge gaps between tooth? I’m confuse whether I do flossing or not.

    Reply
  13. Susan Middleton says

    August 8, 2017 at 10:11 pm

    Great tip! Would also recommend avoiding food that sticks or is hard to chew as much as possible when you have braces. Makes the cleaning process much easier.

    Reply
  14. Jeremy Clarkson says

    January 30, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    Our dentist at Smile Artist Dentistry suggested investing in a Waterpik for braces and retainers and boy does it help! It can reach any area in my teenagers mouths and you don’t have to navigate around metal, wires, brackets or bands!

    Reply
  15. Ali John Jazayeri says

    December 17, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    Interesting and informative video. I agree that there is no substitute for manual pressure, but a waterpik is your second best option if you can’t clean it manually. Being persistent is key, if you don’t clean your retainer for a long time, the buildup gets hard and calcified and impossible to remove. Thanks for sharing your tips!

    Reply
  16. Vardhman Dental Care says

    April 24, 2019 at 7:55 am

    Very informative video and a must for patients. It’s very important to floss every part of your teeth.

    Reply

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