How to Clean Dentures

At the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group, we’ve fitted many patients with dentures and helped them maintain their new sets of teeth. Not being living tissue, dentures cannot self-repair like natural body parts and need special care.

Removable dentures need to be kept moist, but they could warp if they are put in hot water. Room temperature water or a specially made cleaning solution is best. A person with dentures should continue to regularly brush their gums and tongue, but dentures should not be brushed with conventional toothpaste. Like natural teeth, they should only be brushed with a soft-bristled brush and there are certain denture-specific toothpastes to use with them. Ultrasonic cleaners are useful but are a supplement for brushing, not a replacement. Patients should remember to brush the underside of a denture before reinserting it, and quickly inform a doctor if a denture or abutment used to support it becomes damaged.

Frederick Shaw, DDS, operates the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group at 1500 W 38^th Street, Suite 34, Austin, Texas, 78731. To schedule an appointment, call 512-451-7491 or visit FrederickShawDDS.com and fill out a contact form.