If you have suffered from deteriorating teeth for years, the installation of dentures can provide a significant improvement in your daily quality of life. You'll be able to eat in public or talk to other people with confidence when you open your mouth. You'll no longer have to keep your mouth shut in family photos out of embarrassment about what your teeth look like. But if you want your new dentures to hold up over the long run, regular maintenance is key. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Never Store Without Soaking
Dentures that are not wet will quickly dry out and this will cause the materials involved to rapidly degrade in quality. Your mouth obviously provides a moist environment for your dentures but it can soon become a different story when you take them out at night. Always make sure your dentures are properly soaked in water or cleaning solution when they are not in your mouth. Even one night without a proper soaking could cause the dentures to dry out and degrade in quality.
Clean Daily But Gently
Getting into the habit of cleaning your dentures and soaking them overnight is half the battle, but you also need to make sure that you remain as gentle as possible with the dentures during the cleaning process. Use a brush designed specifically for dentures and be sure to use care when scrubbing away at food deposits. Pushing too hard with a cleaning brush could cause your dentures to bend or warp and you may then find it more difficult to get them back into your mouth.
Don't Forget Your Gums and Tongue
Just because you don't have natural teeth anymore does not mean the rest of your mouth doesn't need a daily cleaning. You should still use a brush to gently clean your tongue and gums. You don't want to leave these areas unchecked as bacterial growth could end up making its way onto the dentures and leading to decay.
Schedule a Regular Dental Appointment
Likewise, you don't want to use the fact that you don't have natural teeth as an excuse to stop going to the dentist. Your dentures can be professionally inspected and cleaned just like you used to do for your real teeth. A good dentist may be able to correct a developing problem that would otherwise lead to your dentures breaking down sooner than they should.
Reach out to your dentist for more longevity tips for your dentures today.
Share2 May 2019
Do you have "bad teeth"? I do. Ever since I was a kid, every checkup turns up a number of issues ranging from cavities to dental fractures. It has always been frustrating to keep my smile in decent shape, which is one of the reasons I started focusing on understanding different dental problems. I wanted to know what I was getting into when I visited the doctor, so I began focusing on learning as much as I could. I wanted to create this blog all about dentistry so that other people could find out what to expect when they head to the dentist. Check it out!
