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Oral Care Medicine Safety for Seniors

Good oral care isn’t important only to children; it should be an ongoing part of every person’s healthcare, even those with dentures or bridges. The first rule of thumb about dental devices like dentures and bridges is to keep them clean, according to your dentist’s instructions. This means to:

• Clean dentures thoroughly at least once a day to remove stains, debris, and potentially harmful plaque.
• Use a combination of brushing and soaking.
• Use only denture cleansers, not household cleaners, to soak your dentures. Household cleaners are not appropriate and may either be ineffective or damage denture material.
• Denture cleanser tablets should never be chewed or swallowed, and never put denture cleaning solution in your mouth.
• Cleaned dentures should be rinsed with water before being put back in your mouth, and the cleaning solution should be thrown out right away.
• Consumers who have irritation or swelling of the throat or mouth after using a denture cleanser should remove dentures immediately; rinse their mouth with water; and call a dentist, doctor, or the poison control helpline at 1.800.222.1222 right away.
• Keep denture cleansers out of reach and sight of children.
• Use only moderate force when brushing. Brushing too hard can damage the acrylic resin most dentures are made of.

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