27 Jul Denture Maintenance: Oral Hygiene Is Still Important

People who lost most of their teeth and are obliged to wear dentures should still take care of their oral hygiene. Dentures really are a long-lasting solution if you choose to clean them properly and prevent them from getting damaged and broken.

Sterilize them

The sterilization of dentures is important for your own health. If you don’t clean your dentures regularly, you are at risk of developing different gum and mucous membrane diseases that can be quite painful. Sores in your mouth are not something you would like to deal with. Plus, bacteria on improperly maintained dentures will end up in your organism, and some of these can cause bigger health issues than you’ve ever imagined.

Before you put them

Before you put your dentures, you should first sterilize them with an antiseptic liquid your dentist prescribed. Also, clean your oral cavity thoroughly before you put your dentures inside your mouth. If you have full dentures, it might be a bit hard to brush your gums only, but there are special brushes which are soft and appropriate for this. Clean your mouth before you put and after you take off your dentures. Make sure that there are no food leftovers on them from your previous use, and you can even floss them to make sure that they are really flawless. You will have to apply a cream that will keep them in place, so sometimes, you might have troubles taking that cream off. Under no condition should you leave them dirty, so don’t stop until you get it all off.

During nighttime

Some dentures need to be moisturized constantly so, when you take them off, you will need to put them into a glass of water, or some kind of denture cleaning solution. This will additionally help you with cleaning. All those leftovers that got hardened will get soft over night, so you will be able to take them off the next morning easily. Change the water or liquid you keep them in regularly, and remember to keep the container clean. Not only can you ruin your dentures if you neglect them, but you can also develop bad breath, fungal diseases on your tongue and even a sore throat.

Brush after each meal

You must remember that these are not your natural teeth and that there is a possibility that food will get stuck everywhere around them when you eat. This is why it is so important to wash them every time you eat anything. This will take less than a minute, and you will always have clean dentures and feel no discomfort in your mouth. If you are eating sticky food, then you should brush them with a toothbrush, and use floss and mouthwash after each meal.

Watch out

Dentures can be easily damaged, so you will have to be really careful. Don’t eat too fast to avoid causing cracks on your dentures. Also, handle them carefully when you take them out of your mouth or while placing them in a glass to stay for the night. If you drop your dentures, they can easily get damaged or completely broken. Unfortunately, some damages cannot be fixed so, you will have to buy a new pair of dentures, which is not a small investment.

Things you have to have

There are a few things you will absolutely have to own in order to maintain your dentures clean. Toothbrushes of various kinds, depending on your dentures, an oral irrigator that will help you clean between the teeth of your dentures, floss and, of course, different rinses, mouth washes and soaking solutions. You should also have a portable container where you can keep your dentures when going on a trip or somewhere outside your home for a couple of days.

If you haven’t learned anything about proper oral hygiene so far, you should do it now. Poor oral hygiene might have or might have not led to dentures, so the least you can do now is to keep them fresh and clean at all times. Even if they are artificial and they cannot cause toothache, being irresponsible could still harm you. After all, you shouldn’t let all the money you paid for your dentures go to waste, right?