u/chlekat

Hi all! I got my buttons removed on Wednesday after 6 months of treatment and I have a question about retainer wear. I was told to wear them all the time for 4 months, and at that point I will have another checkup.

Admittedly to prioritize wear time, I would drink things other than water with my trays in and rinse with water after each sip. I wore each tray for 7 days and used cleaning tablets and an ultrasonic cleaner, so I wasn't that worried about it.

I was told I probably should not drink anything but water with the retainers in, as they are forever retainers and I'll be wearing them for 4 months straight so obviously I don't want buildup etc. (I do have 1 extra set, but was told not to use it unless I lose the first one). On weekdays this is no problem, however on weekends I like to drink a lot of things besides water, both to increase my hydration during the day, and to have fun with friends in the evening! It is simply not realistic for me ~2 days out of the week to have them in 22 hours per day without drinking anything but water. My question is: how detrimental would it really be to have the retainers out for several hours at a time? Or would you drink things and rinse? I'm somehow far more stressed now that I'm "done" as this will be WAY more difficult for me. Thanks in advance for the advice!