Considering the fact that only one in four adults don’t brush their teeth twice a day — including a third of men — and the fact that only half of adults say they visit their general dentists every six months, it shouldn’t come as all that big of a surprise that about 15% of the edentulous population (those missing some or all teeth) has dentures made each year.
What many might not realize, though, is that they can’t continue these bad habits. Even though they’ve underwent restorative dental procedures , their new teeth are not totally impervious. Here’s how dentures can be kept in good shape.
Remove and Rinse After Eating
After you eat, you need to remove and rinse your dentures. Just run some water over them to get the loose food particles out. You should also clean your mouth after you take your dentures out, too, using a soft-bristled toothbrush on your natural teeth, and gauze or a soft toothbrush on your tongue, cheeks, and palate.
Keeping Your Dentures Clean
Brush your dentures every day, and let them soak in a nonabrasive cleanser to get rid of food, plaque, and other deposits. Then, soak them overnight in a mild soaking solution, making sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on cleaning. Before you put them back in your mouth, be sure to rinse them off, especially if they were just in a denture-soaking solution, as these cleaners can contain harmful chemicals that can cause vomiting, pain, or even burns if they’re swallowed.
Avoid Damaging Your Dentures
Damaging your dentures is a lot easier than you might think. You don’t want to use any abrasive cleaning materials, such as stiff-bristled brushes, strong cleaners, and harsh toothpastes. You also don’t want to use any whitening toothpaste, as these are especially abrasive. It’s also a good idea to avoid any products that contain bleach, as they can weaken dentures and even change their color. Don’t let your dentures soak in hot water, either, as it could warp them.
Restorative dental procedures can get the edentulous population back into good shape, but those old patterns of poor dental practices can’t continue. If you have any questions, feel free to share in the comments.