Taking proper care of your dentures is not as simple as some people think. In most cases the dentures are placed in a glass with water and a tablet of denture cleaner tossed in and left over night or for an hour or so. There are two major problems with this method. First, you need to scrub your dentures with a soft tooth-brush or special denture brush which is soft and second, that denture cleaner tablet is doing a great job of etching and discoloring your dentures.
The brushing part is simple and very straight forward. You have to remove all of the food and other substances which accumulate on your dentures at least once a day. At night, before you go to bed is the best time to do this. Brush your dentures, inside and out , with a soft brush and use either a special dentures tooth paste or dishwashing liquid–calgon works very well, but any will do. Why use a soap or special paste? Because regular tooth paste is abrasive and will actually leave scratches on your dentures and over time you can leave grooves in the surface of your dentures.
The commercial denture cleaning tablets do the same thing –they etch the surface of the dentures and make the acrylic dentures material and teeth become dull and rough. Actually any etching or rough surfaces on your dentures are great areas for bacteria to grow which can cause denture odor. If you wear partial dentures which have metal surfaces or clasp for holding them in place, the commercial cleaners, over time, will destroy the metal surface. It becomes pitted and discolored.
Never soak your dentures in bleach. It’s true that bleach kills everything, but you pay a price. It will etch and corrode your dentures very quickly. If you want to soak your dentures in some sort of cleaner, you can use hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar. Pour a 1/2 cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide in a glass or bowl. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix them together. Place your dentures in the bowl and let them soak for about 30 minutes. The vinegar technique is similar except use 1/3 cup of vinegar to 2/3 cup water. Always rinse your dentures off throughly after cleaning.
I would not recommend putting your dentures in water and then microwaving them. The chances of heating them up too much and then having the acrylic warp or distort are very real. If the heat warps your dentures they might not fit you again. This is true even for cleaning them with very hot water–be careful, let them cool before placing them back into your mouth.
Many people have a soft liner which is placed in their dentures for healing purposes. This liner is temporary, but needs to cleaned and maintained. Use a special cleaner like Stain Away Plus but use cool water for mixing. High heat and regular cleaners will damage the temporary liner. Don’t soak the dentures for more than 30 minutes each day. Clean them very gently with cotton balls or a very soft tooth-brush. Always keep the dentures moist and soak them in water at night. If the liner drys it will distort and the dentures might not fit.
Soak the dentures in water at night in some sort of container. Leaving the dentures out at night is very important for the health of your gums. Also, remember to brush your gums –they need to be cleaned too. Lastly, don’t let the dog or cat get your dentures. They will think they have found the world’s greatest bone and chew them to pieces. Apparently, your saliva imparts some sort of smell or taste to the dentures which the animals find irresistible.
Outstanding quest there. Whatt occured after? Good luck!
Can you soak dentures in peroxide more than 30 mins?
I would do a 50/50 mixture of water and peroxide. Another method is to get one of the small jewerly ultrasonic cleaners and put the dentures in a sandwich bag-sealed with a dish washer or kitchen soap and water mixture and turn the ultrasonic on for 5 to 10 minutes.
I have a partial with metal and a full upper denture (no soft liner) and have searched many sites to find a cleaning solution that works for both at the same time. I have been using Stain Away which I like very much but need a little more stain removal from time to time (but too late to learn about the etching due to overnight soaking).
I have white vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and bleach. Bleach I won’t use! (My first upper actually turned more yellow. Was young and wasn’t educated then on the care)
Some say use vinegar and distilled water, but another says the vinegar will corrode the metal over time (as does bleach). Or one says use this much and another this much. One says over night another says 30 mins or it could cause damage.
Which is right? I’m so confused and frustrated!
I have been trying to find something on peroxide with regards to the metal in my partial, and will it hurt over night for better stain removal? I only find peroxide and water, peroxide with baking soda, but never says anything about the effects on metal.
I write this with hesitation because I want the best cleaning solution but you too are another site. And I’ve been through a lot of them.
Thank you for your input and any guidance you can provide.
I’m sorry you have become so confused about cleaning your partial denture. You have done a good job of researching how to take care of your dentures and are obviously concerned about not damaging them.The first thing I would suggest is to take the partial to your dentist and ask him to polish the metal. It’s very simple and most dentist have all the things needed to polish the metal which is generally a chrome nickle alloy. This is a very hard metal, but you can damage the metal with certain chemicals. If that’s not possible I would try a liquid or paste silver polish. Follow the directions like you are polishing silver and it should look nice and clean when you are finished. Don’t rub too hard and once again, follow the directions. As to soaking the dentures, it’s really best to use water and just a bit of non-alcohol mouth wash. Most commercial denture cleansers can, over time, damage the plastic and metal from which the denture is made. Washing and scrubbing with soap and water works best with a soft brush. You could try Retainer Brite tablets (www.retainerbrite.com). These are gentle cleaning tablets that you dissolve in water and use in a small ultrasonic cleaner. T
You Did NOT answer her question about a soak for partials and/or dentures that have metal. I ALSO am searching for an answer regarding a natural soak for my metal partials. Can we use peroxide and baking soda mixture for a soak on metal partials???
You have to be careful with the metal–it’s very hard, but most denture cleaners and clorox will etch the metal and over time weaken the clasp. The best soak is water with a little non-alcohol mouth wash. I would not use the peroxide and baking soda–OK to brush your teeth with this, but not for the metal on your partial denture. If you want to polish it to make it bright, some silver polish will work on the metal. After the polish scrub with tooth brush–soft and soap and water.