Just as your natural teeth require routine cleaning and care, your false teeth or dentures demand regular maintenance, care, and cleaning. Regardless of the type of false teeth that you use, you need to take proper care of your dentures to do your daily tasks of eating, chewing, and speaking.
Fixed partial dentures are fixed and need a dentist to remove for cleaning, but even these dentures still require care and cleaning. This way, you will prevent risks of oral health and maintain perfect shape and condition for your oral appliance.
If you are wearing removable partial dentures, complete dentures together with implants-supported dentures that can be removed by yourself, you must follow the guidelines and home care to clean your dentures. A good and daily cleaning of your false teeth will ensure your oral health and safety for a longer time.
What are the best ways to clean dentures?
After eating and drinking, with the existence of poor oral hygiene, there will be an environment for plaque build-ups to from. Then plaque biofilm will stick to your teeth and you end up with stained and worn-down teeth over time.
Plaque and tartar will not waste any chance for destruction and they grow and send the colonies of bacteria for making a mess.
The same scenario will happen to dentures and that makes plaque the number one enemy of your oral health, which should be eliminated through cleaning and good maintenance. If not, food deposits and the attached plaque on the surface of your denture will result in bad breath and numerous other oral diseases that will follow.
Take care of your dentures with the following instructions:
Cleaning guidelines you should do:
- Remove and rinse your dentures daily and after each meal:
- after each meal, rinse your dentures under warm running water to get rid of food remainings and particles stuck between the false teeth and the other components of your dentures.
- Keep a soft mat or a towel around or under the area of cleaning dentures:
- you need to clean your dentures carefully so you will not break or accidentally drop your dentures while cleaning over a sink.
- Rinse your mouth after each removal:
- rinse your entire mouth after each removal of dentures. Keep your gums and other soft tissues clean to prevent oral conditions such as denture stomatitis and oral thrush.
- By regular rinsing and cleaning your gums and your entire mouth, you contribute to keeping away infections, fungi and bacteria. You can use a soft brush or a clean gauze to do the mouth cleaning task.
- Brush dentures daily with a nonabrasive toothbrush:
- during each removal, brush your dentures to prevent plaque sticking to the false teeth and impactions of food particles in the denture. If you are using denture adhesives, clean the adhesives off on the dentures and also from our gums.
- You can use a number of denture care products including a soft brush, a denture brush, denture cleanser or denture toothpaste for cleaning.
- You can also use soap or warm water to brush your dentures. Remember to clean every corner and surface of your dentures to interrupt with any presence of bacteria.
- Soak your dentures overnight in mildly warm water or a safe dentures cleanser solution:
- do not let your dentures get dry. Put them in mild warm water to keep the perfect shape of dentures all the time and to keep off bacteria when not wearing.
- You can use denture cleanser solution to loosen food particle, plaque biofilm and stained spot on your dentures. Remember to follow manufactures’ instruction on the time and type of dentures cleansers solution.
- Rinse dentures before placing in your mouth:
- always rinse and wash the dentures carefully before reinserting into your mouth. You may have soaked the dentures in solutions, so food debris, plaque, deposits and chemicals remaining on the dentures should be removed.
- Maintain your oral health:
- you should never forget to continue cleaning your oral soft tissue including gums, inner parts of your cheeks and your entire mouth. Opt for a mouthwash or a soft brush to get rid of bacteria and maintain a fresh breath.
- If you are wearing partial dentures, brush the remaining teeth with routine toothbrush and your fluoride containing toothpaste.
Cleaning tips you should avoid:
- Avoid hot water:
- for denture care never put it in boiling water or use running hot water for cleaning and rinsing dentures. Hot water causes dentures to warp or change its shape and form, making them unfit and loose in your mouth and ultimately unusable
- Avoid soaking dentures in household bleaching products:
- according to American College of Prosthodontists (ACP), immersion of dentures for 10 minutes in bleaching products containing sodium hypochlorite will damage your dentures. Therefore, it is a safe bet that you avoid using any strong bleaching solution in cleaning tasks.
- Avoid abrasive toothbrushes and do not use toothpastes:
- any abrasive brush causes damages to the surface of false teeth and the acrylic base. The damages can be grooves and scratches over the surface which allow plaque buildups to get a space to accumulate and food debris to get trapped.
- Also, avoid toothpastes since they may not be compatible with dentures materials and not only may cause discoloration but may leave scratches due to abrasive ingredients. Use a denture paste instead and denture brush for denture care.
Maintenance tips for denture care
- Do not misplace your dentures:
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if you place dentures every time in different spots and location, you may lose them. Have your special pot full of water or recommended denture cleanser around to put the dentures in.
- Watch out for denture adhesives use:
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it is recommended to have your dentures refitted instead of using denture adhesives all the time. You can use denture adhesives for better retention and stability of your dentures, but not when dentures are not properly fitted or aren’t in your custom-fitted size.
Consult with your dentist or prosthodontist for the type of denture adhesive and the amount to apply each time. Some adhesives may contain certain ingredients that should be avoided for long time use.
- Have regular check-ups with your dentist:
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if you have any problems with your dentures, better call your dentist. Issues related to repair of dentures or refitting and realigning are dentist or prosthodontist’s’ job and not an at-home work. Remember to seek advice on further dos and don’ts around your denture care and maintenance.
Why should you remove your dentures at night?
You should give your gums and bone a time to rest and relax, so remove dentures before going to bed. Longtime wear of dentures can shrink the bony ridge of gums (alveolar ridge resorption). By removing dentures at night, your mouth has enough time for self-cleaning with your saliva. Also, continuous denture wearing is associated with denture stomatitis and risks of bad breath, infection and development of fungi.
How many hours a day should you wear your dentures?
You need to remove your dentures at least 6 hours before going to sleep for both stimulation of your saliva and maintaining your oral health. All acts of cleaning the dentures must be done outside the mouth, so that makes enough time for rinsing and oral self-care.
During the rest of the day, you should have your dentures on. Remember to follow 6 to 8 removal time schedule and never wear the dentures for 24 hours in a row.
