Proper denture maintenance is very important. The better care you take of your dentures, the more likely they are to last you a long time.
Storing dentures in water is one of the essential steps in proper denture maintenance. Here are some reasons why it’s important to keep your dentures in water.
Don’t Let Dentures Warp
Your dentures might seem like they’re a plastic that wouldn’t absorb water, but they do. Water becomes incorporated into the matrix of the denture base material, which is normally made out of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Because your dentures are going to be worn wet, your dentures are already accommodated to that circumstance, they’ve been pre-wetted so that they’re unlikely to deform after you get them as a result of absorbing water.
But dentures can also become deformed if they lose water. Letting your dentures dry out can cause them to become warped so that they won’t fit anymore. And they don’t have the kind of material memory that lets them return to their original shape after being wetted again. Once dentures have dried out and become deformed, they will likely have to be replaced at an additional cost.
Always Remember to Clean Dentures
Another benefit of storing dentures in water is that it reminds you how important it is to clean your dentures thoroughly every day. Even if you don’t have a dog that’s going to eat your dentures if you don’t clean them properly, bacteria can build up on dirty dentures.
Storing your dentures in water will remind you that your dentures have to be cleaned. If you forget to clean your dentures, you’ll see it in the storage water. Then you’ll want to clean them thoroughly. And storing dentures in water can coincide with an overnight soak.
Protect Your Dentures from Breaking
Dentures can be very durable, but under some types of strain they can also be vulnerable to breaking. In particular, dentures can break if they’re dropped. If you get in the habit of storing dentures on the countertops dry, they’re likely to get knocked down and broken. But if you store dentures in water, not only will they be in a container, they’ll also be in a cushioning bath. This can protect them against breaking.
Don’t Lose Your Dentures
Another problem with storing dentures on the countertop is that you can forget where you left them. There’s a lot of countertop space, and if you get in the habit of putting your dentures down wherever you happened to be, it gets easy to forget where you left them.
It’s more likely that you’ll lose dentures if your dentures are uncomfortable and tend to spend more time out of your mouth than in. This will cause you to put dentures down many times over the course of the day, essentially any time you don’t need them. This means you’re more likely to lose dentures not just at home, but when you’re out at restaurants and other public places, too, where it can be harder to recover dentures.
Some Dentures Can Be Stored in Your Mouth
Although it’s often recommended that you take out dentures at night, it’s not always required. Some dentures, known as hybrid dentures, are designed to be worn at all times. These implant dentures can stay in your mouth all day and never need to be removed. They don’t need to be stored elsewhere. They become more a part of you than just an accessory you put in for special occasions.
If you are looking for quality dentures that you can wear all the time, please contact a local Denture Fountain of Youth® dentist today for a consultation.
