How To Care For Your Dentures; At-Home Cleaning & Whitening

Dentures are a great way to replace missing teeth, but they’re not always easy to keep clean. If you don’t follow proper cleaning procedures, your dentures can become discolored or develop foul odors—not precisely what you want in your mouth! Follow these tips for how to keep your dentures clean and comfortable.

When to clean them.

When keeping your dentures clean, you need to be proactive. This means cleaning them every day and after each meal. It also means giving them a good scrubbing in the shower before bed each night since water flushes away any remaining food particles that might collect over the course of the day.

What to use

The best way to clean your dentures is using a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. Dentures should be brushed with an ADA-approved soft-bristled brush at least twice daily. The brush’s bristles should reach all surfaces of the denture so that food and plaque can be removed from crevices around the margins and ridges of each tooth. A small amount of fluoride-containing toothpaste may also be used if recommended by your dentist or orthodontist.

How to brush

Brush your dentures daily with a soft bristle brush. Always brush the inside of each denture gently, then work your way outward to remove food particles and plaque. When you brush, rinse with warm water and pat dry with a towel or cloth. When you are finished, always store them in their case until they are needed again.

Brush in a circular motion, starting on the upper right side of each denture (if you are right-handed) and brushing clockwise around the plate until you reach the lower left side. Then repeat this process for every tooth on both top and bottom plates; this should take about five minutes for each set of teeth!

How to soak.

To properly clean your dentures, you’ll need to soak them in warm water and white vinegar. How long should you allow your dentures to soak? The longer, the better!

If you don’t have time for an overnight soak, it’s okay. You can still clean your teeth by letting them sit in the solution for about 20 minutes. If this is all available to you at the moment, just make sure to thoroughly rinse off any leftover vinegar after each use, so it doesn’t stain or damage your mouth appliances later on down the line.

Follow these tips to keep your dentures clean and in good shape.

Your dentures can be cleaned in the following ways:

• Use a denture cleaner. Denture cleaners are available at most drugstores and come in many different forms. Depending on your preferences and budget, you can choose between liquid (which you’ll need to mix with water), powder, or tablet form. Some cleaners are meant for daily use, while others must be used every couple of days or even once per week. If you plan to purchase a cleaner that comes in liquid form, ensure it’s appropriately mixed before using it on your dentures—using too much or too little solution will cause damage!
• Brush daily with an electric toothbrush if possible! A manual brush is fine if all else fails (or when the power goes out). Make sure you’re brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste instead of just once daily (that way, we won’t have any stinky breath!). Remember: The more often we clean our teeth, the less likely they’ll get cavities later down life road because who wants expensive fillings?!
• Rinse after eating – This one seems obvious. Rinsing after eating helps remove food particles from our mouths, so there won’t be any leftovers sitting around inside waiting until tomorrow morning when someone wakes up early enough before breakfast time starts up again.”

Can you clean dentures while wearing them?

The short answer is yes, but it’s not ideal. Dentures are meant to be taken out of your mouth when you brush and floss, as the bristles and picks won’t reach the spaces between them. Leaving them in during cleaning means you’re at risk of trapping food particles and plaque between your dentures and gums, which can eventually lead to gum disease if not addressed. 

If you decide to brush your dentures while they remain in your mouth, utilize a soft-bristled brush and avoid toothpaste with abrasives; this won’t harm the artificial teeth. This routine could be used to freshen your mouth in between meals.

Although cleaning your dentures while in your mouth is technically possible, doing so isn’t the best way to keep them in good shape. Instead, follow the advice above to keep your prosthetic as clean and functional as possible.

Conclusion

We hope this short guide has helped you understand how to keep your dentures clean for years. Remember: invest in a quality set of dentures and clean them regularly, and you’ll have the confidence and freedom to smile naturally. After all, dentures don’t have to be a hassle. Get the dental care products you need from dentkits.com or call us at (800) 698-8124.