• Instructions for Caring for Your New Dentures
  
• Instructions After Oral Surgery
  
• Instructions After Periodontal Surgery
  

1. Brush your dentures daily with a denture brush in lukewarm water over a basin filled with water to remove food particles and bacteria. Both the inside and outside of the dentures should be brushed thoroughly.
   
   
2. If we have placed a temporary soft liner in your denture, they should be cleaned with cold water and cotton swabs (Q-Tips) for the first 3 days. After this, the liners will have set and can be soaked in a denture cleanser.
   
   
3. You may wish to buy an over-the-counter denture cleanser to assist in your denture hygiene. You should rest your tissues each night by removing your dentures and soaking them in either a commercial cleanser or make a solution by mixing one (1) teaspoon of Clorox (household bleach) and two (2) teaspoons of Calgon (a water softener) in a large glass of water (8 oz.). This solution should be used at least twice a week or for a period of 30 minutes daily. Brush and rinse your dentures after soaking them in this mixture to remove the last traces of bleach before you place them back in your mouth. DO NOT place a removable partial denture with metal components or soft liners in this solution or the dentures will deteriorate.
   
   
4. Using an ultrasonic cleanser on a daily basis, as per the manufacturer’s directions, is an excellent way to remove food particles and stains. Remember that coffee, tea, cigarette tars and many foods will stain dentures rapidly.
   
   
5. Use a toothbrush to brush your ridge tissues and any remaining teeth that you have. A toothbrush or preferably a tongue cleaner should be used to remove food debris from the tongue surface. Sulfur compounds from food debris and bacterial decomposition are the major sources of bad breath in the mouth (Halitosis).
   
   
6. When inserting and removing a removable partial denture, be careful to seat it correctly and not force it down over the supporting teeth. Refrain from using your tongue to remove a removable partial denture or complete denture from your mouth as this will loosen the denture and make the tongue a dislodging factor rather than assisting you to hold the denture in place.
   
   
7. Do not attempt to do any denture adjustments yourself, but return to the office so we can evaluate your condition and make professional adjustments for you.
   
   
8. Leave your dentures out of your mouth at night or at other time periods. Try to keep them out of your mouth for at least 2 hours out of any given 24-hour period to rest your mouth tissues.
   
   
9. Patients who wear dentures, complete or removable partial, will experience bone loss throughout their lifetime making the dentures loose over time. How quickly this occurs varies from patient to patient and therefore it is important that you return to our office for regular recalls to check your mouth condition. We will suggest an appropriate time interval for you. To assist and minimize bone loss, it is recommended that you eat a nutritionally balanced diet that stresses adequate intake of calcium for maintenance of your jaw bones. Foods such as yogurt, milk, cheese, etc., are good calcium sources.
   
   
10. For our patients who have dry mouths due to aging or prescription medication and who are wearing dentures, it is helpful to add some mineral oil or Vaseline to the inside of the dentures with a Q-Tip to make them more comfortable with a dry mouth. Sucking lemon drops or other salivary stimulants will help as will synthetic saliva substitutes.
    

For Out Patients Treated With Overdentures

1. Use gauze, Q-Tips, stimudents, an end tufted toothbrush or a proxa-brush to remove dental plaque and debris from around your overdenture abutment roots. This should be done on a daily basis just as if you were brushing your natural teeth.
   
   
2. Clean your overdenture sockets with a Q-Tip after cleaning the denture with a denture brush as described earlier and then apply a drop of fluoride to each overdenture socket three (3) times a week (every other day). Reinsert the dentures into your mouth directly after applying the fluoride. Fluoride is important in order to prevent dental caries in these overdenture abutment roots.
   

For Our Patients Treated With Immediate Dentures

1. Please return to our office as per the schedule given to you. This is important as the gum tissues, after the extractions of your teeth, are rapidly changing and shrinking. Your dentures will be relined many times with various materials to make them comfortable for you as the tissues change. For about 6 months after the extractions, soft liners are used. Then, from 6 to 9 months, a temporary reline is completed followed by a laboratory reline at 1 to 1 ½ years after the immediate dentures are first inserted. Denture cleansing routines should be followed as outlined above.