Our approach applies to medical devices such as an orthodontic retainer that is only worn at night. In such an embodiment, a medical device container is provided for electronically tracking medical device use over a schedule of timed deployments. The container includes a body forming the sides of the container, the container having a closed bottom and an open top. A cover encloses the open top of the container to secure the medical device inside the container while the cover is in a closed state and the cover is movable (e.g., pivotally hinged) to provide exterior access to the medical device while the cover is in an open state. The cover has an exterior surface facing away from the body and an interior surface facing the interior of the body while the cover is in a closed state.
QR-code cannot be scanned while container is in a closed state. 
QR-code scannable for retainer schedule adherence.
A machine-readable optical code label is imprinted or affixed to the interior surface of the cover, the machine-readable optical code encoding data to schedule a series of timed deployments of the medical device. The machine-readable optical code data is retrievable by a smartphone software application installed on a smartphone, wherein the optical code label is only electronically readable by the smartphone when the cover is in an open state.