The complete guide
Tablets versus ultrasonic cleaning: when to switch
Cleaning tablets are the default most retainer wearers start with because they need no equipment — drop the tablet in water, soak, done. The trade-off is chemical exposure to the appliance material over hundreds of soaks, and tablets don't reach into every seam the way cavitation bubbles do. Ultrasonic cleaning solves both, at the cost of an upfront purchase and a counter-top appliance to store. If tablets are keeping appliances visibly clean and odour-free, there's no urgent need to switch; if odour or visible buildup keeps returning between soaks, that's the signal ultrasonic cleaning is solving a problem tablets alone aren't.