Louis Stone
If you used an electric toothbrush before you had your teeth replaced with dentures, then you may be wondering if you can use this brush on your false teeth. Your dentist has told you to brush your dentures daily as well as soak them, but you aren't sure if you can do this safely with an electric brush.
Will an electric toothbrush work on your new dentures?
How Electric Toothbrushes Affect Dentures
While electric toothbrushes can clean dentures effectively, you have to take care when using this kind of brush on false teeth. If you don't adapt the way you use an electric brush, you risk damaging your dentures.
For example, if you scrub at your dentures for too long or too vigorously, then you might scratch your denture teeth and plastic plates. Scratches may not cause immediate harm to the dentures, but they'll ultimately make the teeth harder to clean.
Scratches also give bacteria somewhere to live in the dentures. This makes them smell and you may get oral problems like yeast infections.
How to Brush Your Dentures With an Electric Toothbrush
If you want to use your electric toothbrush on your new false teeth, then you need to make some changes to the way you use the brush. You may also need to change the type of brush head you use.
For example, you need to be very gentle with the brush. Put it on its lowest setting. Let it do the cleaning and don't scrub at your teeth or plates. You should simply guide the brush around your dentures without putting any pressure on it or without moving it from side to side.
You may also find that shorter cleaning times work best. For example, a guided clean for a minute or two may be enough to clean food residue off your teeth. You can then back up this clean with overnight soaks in denture cleaners.
It's really important to make sure that you have the softest brush head you can get on an electric toothbrush. Even if you're gentle and keep brushing sessions short, a medium or hard brush will scratch your dentures. So, you may need to switch to using different heads.
For more advice on how to clean your new dentures with your electric toothbrush, talk to your dentist. They can help you work out the best way to use the brush without causing any damage.
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