Remove your dentures at night. This gives your mouth a break and allows the gum tissue to ‘breathe’ while you sleep. Sleeping in your dentures is similar to wearing your socks and shoes to bed.

Soak your dentures in a cleaning solution overnight, or for the recommended amount of time, if different. Rinse your dentures well before putting them in your mouth.

If soaking and brushing with warm water is not enough, you can brush your dentures with either a mild dish soap or non-abrasive denture toothpaste.  Do not use regular toothpaste that you would use on your regular teeth. These toothpastes are too abrasive and will scratch the dentures.

A denture brush has a double head that enables you to brush the teeth with one side of the brush head and the deeper crevices of the inside of the denture (the gum side) with the other.

When cleaning your dentures over the sink, remember to either place a hand towel in the bottom of the sink or fill the sink with water. This provides a soft surface for the denture to land on if it slips out of your hands.

Rinse or brush your denture after each meal. Leftover food particles can cause bacteria buildup and bad breath, just as it does with natural teeth.

If you have a soft liner in your denture, remember to take extra care when cleaning your denture. Use your finger on the area with the soft liner instead of a toothbrush and only use soaking cleansers for 15 minutes before transferring your denture to clean water for the rest of the night.

Whenever not in your mouth, your denture should be stored in either cleaning solution or room temperature water. This will prevent the denture from drying out and warping.

Do not clean your dentures in bleach or a bleach solution. This will discolour the pink denture base and alter the appearance of your dentures as a whole.

Whether you have some or no natural teeth left, it is still important to care for the inside of your mouth. Rinse with mouthwash and lightly brush your gum tissue when you remove your dentures after eating and brush any remaining natural teeth as normal.