To Keep Your Dentures Out-of-Sight, Be Sure to Soak Them Overnight

Dentures can be a fantastic way to have a complete smile after extensive tooth loss, but they require regular care and maintenance to keep looking their best. In addition to a daily cleaning, your dental appliance needs to be removed from your mouth and soaked for a solid eight hours. For this reason, most patients let their dentures soak while they are sleeping. Here’s why soaking your dentures is so important to keeping your mouth healthy and your appliance in working order.

Acrylic Is a Porous Material

The bases of most modern dentures are made of a porous material called acrylic. To the human eye, these pores can be too small to see, but to bacteria, they are like unused real estate ripe for development. One pore can house many populations of bacteria. If your dentures are not regularly cleaned, these bacteria can accumulate and eventually cause gum disease. By soaking your dentures in an approved cleanser on a nightly basis, you can keep these populations at healthy levels.

Your Gums and Dentures Need Some Time Apart

Supporting dentures can be a workout for your gums, and the constant effort is why they can be sore at the end of the day. Neglecting to remove your dentures for the recommended eight hours every day can lead to gum disease and bone loss in the jaw due to bacterial infections.

Removing your dentures before sleep gives your mouth time to rest and clean itself. Bacteria love dark, damp, warm, protected places, and the space between your denture and your gums can be a perfect habitat for them if you leave your appliance in continuously. This can breed a bacterial population that can infect your gums and cause bad breath. To make matters worse, saliva production decreases with age, making it harder for the mouth to clean itself of bacteria and food debris. Soaking your dentures helps keep your mouth clean after your saliva levels start dropping.

Soaking Can Effectively Clean Your Dentures

While brushing alone cannot clean the bacteria-sheltering pores in your dentures, soaking your appliance can. Giving your dentures a nightly soaking eliminates more than 99.9% of oral bacteria living on and in them, keeping your mouth healthy and your dentures comfortable and free of odors. For best results, use an approved denture cleanser.

Failure to soak your dentures or using hot water for the job can cause your appliance to warp or crack, which can make it unusable or uncomfortable to wear. With proper care, your dentures can last to provide you with a beautiful smile for up to a decade.

About the Practice

Marble Dental Care builds long-lasting relationships with patients by providing exceptional dental care in McKinney, TX. Led by Drs. Zack Hegazin and Muna Koro, the staff is committed to providing excellent oral health services in a warm and welcoming environment. Areas of expertise include preventive, cosmetic, emergency, and restorative dentistry in addition to denture treatments. For more information on proper denture care, contact the office online or dial (214) 592-0441.