Can cavities form due to have a retainer

Question

Before I had braces and now a retainer, I never got too many cavities. However now I wear a retainer every night and I all of a sudden get 5 or 6 cavities at a time. Is it possible that there is a bacteria that lives on the retainer and when I wear it at night it affects my teeth?

Answer 1

No doubt that you have to keep the retainer clean but at the same time you have to keep you mouth clean also. Brush you teeth properly at night before putting the retainer. For more on caries you can check up the following link

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Answer 2

The retainer itself won't cause cavities, but like the previous person said, if you drink a coke (or eat something), then put your retainer in, you definitely increase your risk of getting decay.

When you sleep, your salivary flow (which helps prevent decay) decreases, so it is important to do a good job of brushing AND flossing before you go to bed.  You need to floss EVERY night and do an EFFECTIVE job of removing plaque (via brushing/flossing) 2x per day.  

You can check how effective you are by using one of those disclosing tablets that you can get at your dental office.  That will show you how well you are removing plaque.

Diet also is a big risk factor.  If you snack a lot, drink sodas, juices, coffee w/ cream/sugar, mints, gum w/ sugar, etc, you will increase your risk of tooth decay.

As for preventing decay, it takes about 2 min to effectively brush your teeth (try timing yourself to see how long 2 min really is) and you need to brush min 2x/day, and floss min 1x/day.

You can also try using sugarfree gum w/ xylitol, which has been shown to help reduce the bacteria that cause decay.

If you have the clear retainers, you can also put a little bit of toothpaste into them before you put them in, because the fluoride in the toothpaste will help prevent decay.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

I don't think the retainer is causing this but make sure you clean it well daily. Make sure you go to bed with a clean mouth. If you drink a coke, than put your retainer on and go to bed you will get cavities.