Ask The Doctor
1. SHOULD I SLEEP WITH MY DENTURES IN MY MOUTH?
They say that you should take your dentures out before you retire to bed. A lot of people clench or grind their teeth in their sleep. Patients have told me that they wake up with a sore jaw. The experts say to give your mouth a break or rest and leave your dentures out at night and soak them in a cup of water. I know some people can not handle their teeth out at night and I tell them to take their teeth out in the morning when they are showering or shaving. Any break from the mouth helps the tissue to breath easier.
2. HOW SHOULD I CARE FOR MY DENTURES?
You should clean or rinse your dentures after every meal. Use a liquid soap and water and clean with a soft to medium denture brush. If you forget to clean your teeth for a few days and calculas forms, I would use STAIN-AWAY PLUS that are carried by most local drug stores or pharmacies. If you have a soft or temporary liner in your upper or lower dentures, never use toothpaste, (too abrasive) Polident cleanser, or Efferdent cleanser. Again, STAIN-AWAY PLUS is your best bet. Never boil dentures because this may cause warping.
3. WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY OLD DENTURES AFTER I HAVE RECEIVED MY NEW DENTURES?
After your new dentures feel great and no more sore spots, you should put your old dentures in a small baggy filled with water and zip lock them. You then put them in your freezer and save them for emergencies only. For saving your old dentures for a long period of time, this is the best way to save them. If you put them in a drawer they will dry out and if you leave them in water for a long period of time, algae forms.
4. WHAT IS A MOLLOPLAST B LINER?
Molloplast B is a soft liner that is permanently put in a lower denture. Molloplast B is put in the lower denture when a denture patient has no lower ridge support or they have a very flat ridge. This soft liner makes the lower denture more comfortable and patients have told me that their lower denture stays down better. Over the last 28 years of my practice, we have had over a 95% success rate with the soft liner in a lower denture.