Brushing

To keep your dentures clean, you should clean them after every meal with a soft bristle brush. They should be brushed, inside and out, using lukewarm water and mild soap or non-abrasive toothpaste.

An acrylic surface that has been scratched by an abrasive substance easily absorbs saliva, which carries food particles that cause stains. The result: denture maintenance becomes increasingly more difficult.

Plaque is an invisible bacterial film that forms gradually, not only on natural teeth, but on dentures as well. Once it hardens, plaque turns into calculus, which is an open invitation to bacteria, irritations, gum disease, digestive problems, bacterial stomatitis, and plaque has been directly correlated as a component cause for heart disease.

It is also recommended that you gently brush, gums and the roof of your mouth with a moistened, soft-bristle brush and scrape your tongue. This daily one-minute massage stimulates your circulation and tones your gum tissue, while ridding your mouth of bacteria. This also helps keep your breath fresher longer. TIP: Always brush your denture over a sink full of water with a hand cloth floating in the water, or over a towel. This way, if you happen to drop your denture, the impact will be considerably lessened.

Soaking

Prolonged exposure of your denture to air can discolour it and dry out the acrylic, making it more brittle. When you remove your denture for the night, keep it in a covered container, filled with water or a special soaking solution. We recommend Nova Dent™, which can be purchased at our clinic. Never use bleach to clean or soak your denture. It can weaken the structure of the denture and discolour the acrylic. Bleach will not work as a whitening agent.

NOTE: Greater care must be given however to softlining materials, soaking them less frequently and for shorter periods.