Denture Care – Do’s and Dont’s
How to Care for Your Dentures
Proper denture care is necessary to ensure longevity and usefulness of your dentures. While professionally designed and constructed dentures are quite robust and can stand up to the rigours of daily use, regular denture care plays an important role.
While Wearing Your Dentures
When wearing dentures there are a couple of things to consider, such as your choice of food.
Most foods are alright to eat with your dentures in, however your dentures are not fixed. As a result it is important that you cut foods into smaller, manageable pieces.
For example, you may now need to cut meat into smaller pieces or cut a whole apple into slices. Generally, if you apply common sense to your food choices, you will prevent much avoidable damage.
Unfortunately, this does mean you probably won’t be enjoying any more Jawbreaker lollies!
Denture Care Throughout the Day
Regular cleaning of your dentures throughout the day is key to longevity.
Much like your regular teeth, regular cleaning of your dentures will ensure plaque and bacteria do not build up. As soon as practical, try to remove your dentures and clean them after meals.
When you clean your dentures, use a specialised denture paste and denture brush. Avoid using regular toothpaste and toothbrushes if possible. Regular toothpaste can include abrasives that will damage your dentures, while regular toothbrushes are too harsh for the materials used in your dentures and may result in scratching.
Denture Care at Night
Denture Care at NightAn important part of your denture care program occurs while you’re sleeping.
Don’t wear your dentures while you sleep, instead, place them into a glass of water with a specialised denture cleaning solution. When you wake up, before using your dentures, you should rinse the denture solution off. Make sure you wash them thoroughly, to avoid getting the solution in your mouth.
If your dentures contain metal components, these can be damaged by the wrong denture solution. If you need advice on which solution to use, your dental prosthetist can offer advice.
Most importantly, you should never put your dentures in boiling water. Boiling water will cause them to warp, and no longer fit snuggly in your mouth.
Ongoing Denture Care
Make sure you schedule a regular appointment with your dental prosthetist.
At a minimum, it is recommended that you see them at least once a year. During the visit, your dental technician will examine your dentures for any minor damage. Any cracks or defects can be identified and, hopefully, fixed.
They will also be able to discuss or identify any issues you may be having. This could include rubbing of your gums or uncomfortable fitting dentures.
Remember, maintaining good oral health in your mouth is just as important as regular denture care.
Denture Care Do’s and Don’ts
Denture care is relatively straightforward if you remember two key things –
- regular, daily care is the key to a proper maintenance schedule and
- denture specific products should always be used, under the recommendation of your denture professional. This means avoid boiling or hot water for soaking your dentures, use specialised cleaners, and avoid products such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and bleach when cleaning. If you are unsure ask your dental professional.
To ensure your dentures are properly maintained you may want to have them professionally cleaned. One of our technicians can clean, hand scale and polish your dentures for you to ensure they are always at their best.
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