You know what they say: something as little as a smile can make someone’s day. As you get older, your oral health will decline. However, no worries, as there are dentures. Dentures are prosthetic devices that act as replacement teeth and are held up by the oral cavity. Dentures also work towards providing relief and preventing further damage of the teeth from a wide range of dental health issues. Essentially, dentures help to improve a smile, benefiting the overall appearance and self-confidence. Considering that dentures, just like regular teeth, can be prone to infection, it’s extremely important to clean them thoroughly and be well-maintained. As such, here are some ways you can effectively clean your dentures.
Brushing Dentures
This should come as no surprise. Just like brushing our teeth every day and night, dentures do have to be brushed daily with a soft-bristle brush. You can either use a designated denture cleaner that’s available at the drugstore or a simple mild soap can do the trick as well. Brushing the dentures allows you to get rid of any food particles or adhesives that are stuck between the teeth. Since the chewing motion occurs along the gum, do make sure you pay special attention to those areas and brush the surface well.
Rinsing the Dentures After Every Meal
After each meal, you can adopt a good habit of cleaning and rinsing the dentures. This may look tedious, but there is a high possibility for the dentures to trap any food debris or particles. When this happens, you may feel uncomfortable or even irritated while wearing the dentures. Therefore, once you have completed your meal, you should head to the bathroom, remove the dentures, and clean them with water. No soap is needed for this process.
Soak the Dentures Overnight
Even though there are many types of dentures available in the market, most of them do have to stay moist in order to keep their shape due to their acrylic base. To prevent the dentures from drying out, you should soak them overnight in a cup of warm water. Do make sure that the water is neither too hot nor cold as this can damage the dentures. If the dentures are not made of metal, you can also consider adding a gentle denture-soaking solution to further clean the device.
Dry the Dentures
Aside from soaking the dentures in water, another way to clean them is by leaving them out in the open. Oxygen is a natural way to eliminate yeast or other bacteria, which is why dentures can be placed on a dry surface overnight or when not in use to be free of any infection.
Cleaning the Mouth
Last but not least, you should take proper care of your natural teeth by brushing and rinsing them. This process should be done before putting on the dentures during the day and after removing them in the evening. To take it up a notch, you can use salt water as a mouthwash or add spearmint or peppermint to remove bad breath and refresh the mouth.
