Cleaning Dentures – What You Need to Know

Dentures can make a world of difference in your overall health and state of wellbeing. But once your dentist has put in those dentures, the next step to focus on is, naturally, to maintain them. Unfortunately, many people are ill-prepared when it comes to properly caring for and cleaning their dentures, so Langley’s Dental is here to fix that.

In the lines below, we show you how to clean your dentures correctly and efficiently. This will help keep bacteria growth away from your teeth, and minimize the risk of lesser concerns, like bad breath, but also that of larger concerns, like infection.

Rinse after meals

This goes above and beyond the classic “brush your teeth twice a day” (which you should still be doing. But ideally, in order to ensure that food particles and debris don’t get stuck to your dentures, we recommend removing them, and rinsing after every meal.

If that’s impossible for you, try to at least rinse once a day with warm water.

Also, make sure you take precautions, in order to protect your dentures, should they fall. Place a towel inside your sink or cleaning area, in case your dentures fall. Alternatively, fill the sink with water, so that if your dentures fall, it will cushion them, and prevent them from breaking.

 

Soak ‘em up!

Another important denture cleaning step you don’t want to skip is soaking them overnight. This is important, since keeping a good moisture level allows your dentures to maintain their shape, and obviously, that’s what we want.

When soaking your dentures overnight, make sure you consult with your dentist first as to the proper cleaning procedures. This varies from case to case, and from denture type to denture type.

Some may be fine left to soak in pure water through the night, while others may require the use of a cleaning solution. Some cleaning solutions need to be left to work overnight, while others should only be used for a few minutes, as per instructions, due to their strength.

Remember to always rinse your dentures thoroughly after soaking before replacing them inside your mouth.

 

Clean your mouth.

Once you’ve removed your dentures, you will also want to clean the interior of your mouth (e.g. cheeks, tongue, roof) to remove food debris, and stave off bad breath. Make sure you use a soft-bristle brush for this task, and a mild cleaning paste. If you are using denture adhesives, you will also want to gently scrub that off after removing your dentures.

Make sure you avoid harsh cleaning products that contain ingredients such as bleach, as these may weaken your dentures, and in time cause discomfort. You’ll also probably want to keep away from whitening toothpastes, since the ingredients these use to remove stains won’t work on artificial dentures.

As ever, make sure you clean your mouth (and your dentures) gently and with patience, to avoid injuring yourself. In time, this denture cleaning process will become as routine as brushing your teeth!