Maintaining Your Dentures

Take your dentures out at night, and brush your dentures with warm soapy water and a denture brush, tooth brush, or scrub brush.  You may use other products such as Polident tablets to help keep your dentures clean.  Follow the instructions on the packet of such products, but be sure to not soak them in cleaning solutions overnight.  Remember, the key to keeping your dentures clean whether you use warm soapy water or other over the counter products is to use some type of scrub brush.  There is no substitute for a good brushing.  DO NOT USE TOOTHPASTE ON YOUR DENTURES.  Toothpaste has an abrasiveness to it that can cause small scratches in the denture that attract plaque and bacteria that make it more difficult to keep clean.  When your dentures are not in your mouth be sure to store them in a clean container full of clean, fresh water.  

NOTE: Do not use denture cleaning tablets if your denture had a soft liner applied 4-6 weeks after delivery.  This typically only applies to the first set of dentures delivered the immediately after extractions.  

It’s important to remember that everyone’s mouth and ridges are shaped differently. Some people will have greater retention in their upper dentures than others due to this fact. If you are struggling to get any “suction” on your upper dentures adhesives may help in keeping dentures them in place. Products such as Poligrip or Fixodent are available in both powder and paste form. Either the paste or powder is acceptable and is purely a personal preference. Denture adhesives work best when applied to a clean surface. Be sure to clean both your dentures and gums before each application. Unfortunately, your lower denture will never have the same “tight” feel as your upper denture. The only thing that keeps your lower denture in place is your lips, tongue, and cheeks. Your lips, tongue, and cheeks want to do their own thing when eating, speaking, and chewing. Practice, practice, and more practice will help keep the lower denture in place. If denture adhesive will not suffice, the other option for retaining dentures is implants. Implants provided a platform for the denture to hold into. Think of a button and a snap. The implants allow us to “snap” the dentures into place. More information on implants can be provided by your dentist.

It is very common to develop a sore spot or small blister with a new denture or partial. We do our very best adjust the denture to fit and feel as comfortable as possible before allowing you to leave the office. Inevitably though, often times once you really begin using the denture to eat, chew, and function, a small sore spot is possible. With every new denture or partial, we give you 60 days of free adjustments. Just give us a call, make an appointment, and we will be here to take care of you. You must make an appointment for adjustments.

Anytime a denture or partial is delivered in the same day as an extraction, technically those dentures or partials are considered to be temporary healing dentures. Over the course of the next 6 months, the boney sockets and shape of your gums will constantly be changing. During this healing process, your gums will shrink away from dentures. At the end of the 6 months you likely will need a new set of dentures or a reline to accommodate the changes that have occurred. Beyond the 6 month healing period, your mouth and gums will continue to change, but at a much slower rate. Because of this, your dentures ought to be replaced every 5-10 years so as not to cause any damage to your gums by an ill-fitting denture. We encourage you to continue to visit your dentist for check-ups and to assess your oral health.