woman holding her hand over her mouthIt’s a myth that dentures have to smell bad. In fact, with proper care, properly fitting quality dentures can be odor-free. If you have bad breath with your dentures, you have to evaluate whether the problem is your care routine or the dentures themselves. First, eliminate causes of bad breath that aren’t linked to your dentures. You might also experience bad breath if you suffer from dry mouth, which could be linked to smoking, alcohol use, or medications. In addition, don’t forget that your diet could impact your breath. If you are on a low-carb diet, your metabolism changes, which can give your breath a distinct odor. But if you’ve eliminated those causes, it’s time to look at your dentures and how you care for them.

Are You Cleaning Your Dentures Properly?

As with natural teeth, failure to clean your dentures properly can allow bacteria to build up on them. Along with food residue, this leads to bad breath, because many of these bacteria are anaerobic, which means they don’t breathe oxygen. What do they breathe? Sulfur, the foundation of many smelly compounds, which is why they give you bad breath.

So the first step to combating bad breath with dentures is to check your cleaning routine. Ideally, you should clean your dentures after every meal. It doesn’t have to be a thorough cleaning at this point. A simple rinse should do. You can also rinse your mouth, either with water or mouthwash, to remove food debris. Make sure to apply fresh adhesive to help your dentures stay in place.

You have to take them out to clean daily, which means both brushing and soaking. Brush both the teeth parts and the gum parts, especially where the denture contacts your gums. Make sure you remove all the food particles and any other residue, including denture adhesive.

Then put your dentures in to soak, according to the instructions of either your denture manufacturer or the denture soak manufacturer.

And don’t forget to thoroughly clean your gums as well. Not only will this help prevent bad breath, but it can help protect you against gum disease.

Or Are Your Dentures the Problem?

If you’re cleaning your dentures properly, but you’re still getting bad breath, it’s time to evaluate your dentures. First, see how much food gets under your dentures. Ideally, there shouldn’t be much. If you’re constantly dealing with food under your denture, it may be time to investigate properly fitting dentures.

Another thing to consider is whether your dentures have absorbed odors and now have their own smell. Many dentures, especially economy dentures, are made of highly porous PMMA. This makes it easy for the dentures to absorb odor molecules (as well as stain molecules). Once this happens, it can be nearly impossible to get the odor out of your dentures. To test this, check your dentures at their cleanest–right after their overnight soak. Instead of putting them in your mouth, put them in a sealable plastic bag. Wait 15 minutes. Then open the bag and see what it smells like. If it smells bad, your dentures have absorbed odors and are now permanently a source of bad breath.

Better-fitting FOY® Dentures can minimize the amount of accumulation you get under the denture. In addition, FOY® Dentures are made of high-density PMMA. This helps them resist odors as well as staining. To learn how these can benefit you, contact a local FOY® Dentures dentist today.