Denture Cleaning

New dentures are supplied with a highly polished surface. It is extremely important to preserve this polish to prevent stains accumulating with tartar and plaque. The surface polish will be quickly destroyed by some toothpastes and other abrasive materials. If stains or roughness begin to appear the dentures should be returned to your dental surgeon or laboratory for re-polishing.

The importance of oral hygiene

In the same way as natural teeth are cared for, dentures need cleaning morning and night. A denture hygiene routine should be established immediately. Particular attention should be given to gums and any remaining teeth to protect them from disease. This is particularly important for teeth adjacent to a partial denture due to the build up of food and debris in these areas, which can lead to disease if not cleaned properly.

Keeping Gums Healthy

To help keep the gums healthy rub them at frequent intervals with salt. They may feel slightly gritty at first but the salt soon dissolves beneath the denture to form a healing film of saline solution. A denture can begin to feel loose after a few hours simply because a stale layer of mucous and food material will prevent a satisfactory seal forming. Over a period of time this will lead to inflammation and a change in the soft tissues which will destroy the fit and retention of the denture.

How should I clean my remaining teeth? It is terribly important to make sure that the remaining natural teeth are kept thoroughly clean. Sometimes the gums can recede beneath a denture and the teeth may become sensitive. Use Sensodyne F to clean your teeth and reduce the risk of tooth decay.

How should I clean my dentures ?

There are basically two methods of cleaning dentures, brushing and soaking. Most denture wearers tend to use both methods in one way or another.

Brushing

Brushing products are perceived as having considerable benefits versus soaking products. In fact most soaking tablet manufacturers recommend brushing the denture as well as soaking. This is due to the fact that soaking alone does not deliver the benefits of physical brushing in terms of removing the food particles, plaque and debris efficiently. Denture cleaning pastes also have the advantage of looking like ordinary toothpaste and allow denture wearers to continue a brushing routine which they will have become accustomed to prior to wearing dentures. The brushing method is quick and easy and preferred by most dentists as it is a thorough method of cleaning, ensuring that the dentures are free from debris. The highly polished, easily cleaned surface of new dentures can be damaged by ordinary toothpaste and toothbrushes as they can be too abrasive. Therefore using a specialist denture toothpaste such as Dentu-Creme will ensure that the dentures are not damaged. This can be used with the Dentu-Creme Toothbrush.

Soaking

Soaking tablets require the dentures to be left in the soaking solution anywhere from 3 minutes to 10 minutes for the removal of more stubborn stains. Soaking tablets are effervescent tablets which dissolve in water. They contain bleaching agents so usage instructions should be followed carefully to avoid discoloration of the denture or corrosion of any metal parts of the denture.