How to Clean a Crusty Invisalign or Retainers at Home
Have you noticed your Invisalign trays starting to get CRUSTY, YELLOW or GNARLY-Looking? Well … We are going to show you how to professionally clean your Invisalign Tray with some household supplies AT HOME!
How to Clean a Crusty Invisalign Trays or Retainers?
What you eat & drink as well as the minerals in your saliva create an environment to discolor your Invisalign trays or retainers. Brushing alone OR using denture cleaning tablets is not enough to get your Invisalign to look new again.
If your Invisalign trays / clear retainers are yellowish …
Hydrogen Peroxide (This is the main ingredient)- Baking Soda (this helps with debridement)
- Warm Water, Small Bowl, and a Brush
Directions: In a warm bowl of water, use 50% water, 50% hydrogen peroxide, a couple table spoons of baking soda and brush. It will take many minutes to hours to brighten and clean your Invisalign. You may need to soak them overnight if extra dirty.
If your Invisalign trays are white /crusty …
- Distilled White Vinegar (5% Acidity. This is the main active ingredient.)
- Small Bowl of Warm Water (not hot)
- Toothbrush or Denture Brush (as seen here)
Directions – You’ve tried to brush the ‘barnacle’ looking-crust off the Invisalign Trays for weeks and have not made much progress. The key here is to let Invisalign trays soak in 50%/50% Warm Water / Vinegar solution prior to brushing them. Let them soak for 20-30 minutes or more if it’s extra crusty. Brush your Invisalign Trays to get them clean again. You’ll notice that you only remove some of the minerals on your first round. Keep on REPEATING THE STEPS to get them back to new-looking. Good luck!
How to Clean Invisalign Trays
- Hydrogen Peroxide ($3-$6 at any drug store) and Baking Soda work well if it ONLY a discoloration in the Invisalign or retainers. If it is a build-up (likely the white-crusty type), then white vinegar works best.
- Some Internet sites say to never use Vinegar because of the taste. It’s only momentary. Freshen them with Efferdent Tablets or Mouthwash. It shouldn’t be a problem.
- For some crusty looking retainers, you may need to soak them longer (like overnight). For the purple retainer in the below photo. It was soaked for hours.
