Your dentures complete your smile and make it easier to eat and speak, and without them, life would be a little harder. That’s why it’s crucial to take proper care of your prosthetics, so they can continue enhancing your daily life and providing you with a dazzling smile that you feel proud to let show. One of the most crucial care steps for dentures is soaking them overnight. Read on to learn four reasons why soaking your dentures helps keep your mouth and the prosthetic in great shape.
If Your Dentures Are Acrylic, They Have Pores
Although dentures are durable and solid, acrylic dentures actually have small pores. They’re likely too small and dark for you to even see, but as you go about your daily life with them in your mouth, small bacteria and food debris can hideout in these pores, keeping them from being rinsed away with your saliva or a glass of water. The longer you go without soaking your dentures, the higher the risk of them putting your gums in harm’s way.
As You Get Older, Oral Bacteria Increases
Did you know that as you get older, the colony of bacteria in your mouth is also growing? While some bacteria are good, others are bad, leading to the development of oral health problems like gum disease. When you age, your ability to produce as much saliva as you once did will diminish. This can be do to the natural effects of aging combined with certain medications that you may have started taking. Your saliva helps neutralize harmful toxins and acids produced by bacteria and flush them out of your mouth, and without it, they may stick around longer than they’re wanted.
Give Your Gums a Break
Each day, you use your cheek muscles and gums to support your dentures, which can be very laborious. At the end of the night, soaking your dentures doesn’t just help address hygiene, it also gives your gums a much-needed break!
Soaking is An Effective Denture Cleaning Method
While brushing your dentures using a denture brush and special denture cleaner is incredibly important, so is soaking them overnight! Soaking penetrates the tiny pores of the dentures and removes over 99.9% of bacteria, which helps keep them from becoming smelly, tinted yellow, and damaged. You can use denture solution from the store or you can make your own, either way they’ll get the deep-clean they need!
By soaking your dentures every night before you go to bed, not only will you be able to extend their lifespan, but you’ll also keep your beautiful smile looking and feeling healthy and dazzling.
About the Author
Dr. Rafiq Hirji has over a decade of experience as a dentist. He enjoys helping restore his patients’ faith in their smiles by rebuilding them using the latest tooth replacement treatments. He offers a wide array of custom-crafted dental prosthetics, including full and partial dentures, to improve the function and appearance of smiles that have lost many or all of their teeth. For questions or to schedule a consultation, visit Daily Smiles MacArthur’s website or call 972-546-4114.