How to Sterilize Your Dentures in the Microwave

Good dental hygiene is essential in maintaining your best overall health. It's even more important for denture wearers to keep their teeth clean and sanitary. The reason is, the apparatus you wear to replace your natural teeth provides a place for food debris, plaque, germs and bacteria to collect. Those, along with the constantly moist, warm environment of your mouth make a perfect breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Stomatitis is a common ailment of denture wearers. It's a fungal infection. Symptoms include inflammation of the mouth, ulcers, bleeding and burning sensations. Read this informative article and find out how to sterilize your dentures in the microwave.

Cleaning Your Dentures Thoroughly

Brushing with denture toothpaste daily and soaking them in a denture cleaner is a good one-two punch against germs and bacteria. Still, studies show these two methods don't clean dentures so they're completely bacteria-free. Sterilizing them in the microwave also kills yeasts and fungi.

A Few Words of Warning

1. Check with your dentist or the maker of your dentures to make sure it's safe to clean them in this manner. Following this procedure can warp or otherwise damage some type of dentures.

2. If your dentures contain any metal at all, do not sterilize them in the microwave.

3. Don't microwave your dentures longer than instructed.

4. Before you sterilize them, clean your dentures thoroughly with a denture toothbrush and toothpaste to remove food debris and plaque. Rinse them well.

To Sterilize Your Dentures in the Microwave

1. Place your dentures in a small, microwave-safe container that's at least twice as high as the dentures.

If the container has a lid, it must have vents.

2. Fill the container with plain tap water.

3. Place a denture cleanser tablet in the water.

4. Place the container in the microwave. Cover it with a small, clean towel.

5. Microwave your dentures to sterilize them for 2 minutes at the standard heat setting.

6. Remove the container from the microwave and allow your dentures to cool. Finally, rinse them well with tap water.

Resources

http://www.newteethbytom.com/documents%20for%20ntbt%20wp/Denture%20Care%20handout.pdf

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/3742.php

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20030611/microwave-zaps-denture-germs

http://www.homecaredentists.com/articles/4_1258150158.doc