5 Basic Denture Care Tips for Seniors

You can look at the bright side of dentures – you don’t need to worry about cavities, you don’t need to worry about expensive dental procedures and you don’t need to worry about crooked or discolored teeth ever again. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to take very special care of your dentures. Denture care is important for a number of reasons – to keep the dentures looking great, but also to maintain the lifespan of your dentures. There is a good chance that you invested a lot of money on your new teeth, so taking care of them is a simple preventative measure. Plus, your dentures will be spending a lot of time in your mouth, so hygiene is imperative. Here are five basic denture care tips for seniors.

1. Clean your dentures over a safe area. One of the best ways to clean your dentures is to place a towel down in your sink. If you drop your dentures, at least they will fall on the towel and not on tile or some other hard material. Chipping or damaging your dentures is easy if you let them fall on a hard surface. So, when you go to clean your dentures, make sure to prep the area for a soft landing.
2. Make sure to rinse and clean your dentures everyday. This is especially important after a meal. Even though dentures aren’t your real teeth, you still don’t want bacteria and other harmful materials to build up, which can cause infection. Even though you have dentures, you still have to worry about gum disease and other periodontal issues. So, make sure to include denture cleaning into your daily activities. You could even place it into your calendar if it will help you remember.
3. Use specialized cleaning solutions. The last thing you want to use on your dentures is regular cleaning solution, like a normal toothpaste you found at the supermarket. These pastes can actually scratch and damage your dentures. So, make sure that you get a special denture cleaning paste. You can usually find these specialized cleaners at pharmacies or dental clinics that work primarily with dentures, like Sun Dental & Dentures.
4. Don’t use boiling hot water. Many people think that boiling hot water can help kill germs on your dentures. However, this can often be a huge mistake. If the water is too hot, it could actually distort or warp the dentures. When this happens, you will not be able to use your dentures anymore, because they won’t fit. So, only use warm water when you are cleaning your dentures. If you are leaving your dentures in to soak overnight, this is especially important.
5. Make sure that your dentures never get dry. If your dentures get dry, they could crack, which could cause erosion. So, you want to use a special container to hold your dentures in when you aren’t using them. This is especially important if you take your dentures out while you sleep. In the end, your dentures could dry out very quickly if you are not careful.