Guide to Cleaning & Maintaining Dentures, Implants & Bridges

At Luxdent Dental Clinic in Dublin, we understand how much your smile matters—not just for aesthetics, but for comfort, speech, and confidence. Dental prosthetics are custom-made solutions designed to replace or restore missing or damaged teeth. They come in various forms, including:

• Dentures – removable appliances that replace multiple or all teeth
• Crowns – caps that restore the strength and shape of damaged teeth
• Bridges – fixed prosthetics that replace one or more missing teeth
• Dental Implants – titanium posts surgically placed in the jaw to support crowns, bridges, or overdentures

Whether you wear a full set of dentures or have a few crowns or implants, these prosthetics play a vital role in your daily life. They help you chew, speak, and smile with confidence—and they’re also an investment in your long-term oral health.

But like natural teeth, dental prosthetics require regular care and maintenance. Poor hygiene or neglect can lead to staining, infections (like denture stomatitis or peri-implantitis), bad odours, or even damage to the prosthetic itself. Improper care can shorten their lifespan and affect the surrounding gums and bone.

If you wear full or partial dentures, they should be brushed at least once per day—ideally after meals and before bed.

Use a soft-bristled denture brush or a specially designed prosthetic brush.
Avoid regular toothpaste, as it’s often abrasive and can create microscopic scratches where bacteria can thrive.
Instead, use a non-abrasive denture cleanser or mild dish soap with warm (not hot) water.
Gently brush all surfaces, especially the underside that rests against your gums, to remove plaque, food particles, and biofilm.
Be sure to rinse thoroughly after brushing to remove any cleaning residue.
Always clean over a sink lined with a towel or filled with water to avoid damage if the denture is dropped.

If you have remaining natural teeth or implant-supported prosthetics, they require just as much attention—if not more.

• Brush twice a day, using a soft nylon toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
• Use interdental brushes or floss threaders to clean around implants, abutments, and under bridges or bars.
• Consider a water flosser to help flush out debris in hard-to-reach areas, especially under implant-supported overdentures.

Proper cleaning around implants helps prevent peri-implantitis, a gum infection that can compromise the implant.

Whether you wear dentures, bridges, or crowns, rinsing your mouth with water after meals is a smart habit.

• Rinse with warm water to dislodge food particles and neutralize acids.
• If you're out and unable to brush, a rinse can help maintain freshness and reduce bacteria until you can clean more thoroughly.
• Denture wearers should remove and rinse their prosthetic after eating, then rinse their mouth as well.

By following this daily routine, you’ll not only preserve the quality of your dental prosthetics but also protect your overall oral health. And remember.

Vinegar – though it can remove tartar, it’s **acidic** and can erode the denture surface over time
Household bleach – may discolour the acrylic and corrode metal attachments
Baking soda – highly abrasive, it can scratch prosthetic surfaces, making them more prone to staining and plaque buildup
Boiling water – can **warp the shape** of the prosthetic, making it uncomfortable or unwearable

If in doubt, stick with products that are ADA- or dentist-approved, and ask the Luxdent team for personalized recommendations based on the type of prosthetic you use.

Recommended Tools:
A soft-bristled toothbrush for general cleaning
Interdental brushes (nylon-coated wire) to clean between implants or under bridges
Floss threaders or special implant floss to reach around abutments
A water flosser (oral irrigator) for removing debris beneath implant-retained prosthetics and along the gumline

How to Do It:
1. Gently brush the implant area, focusing on the gumline.
2. Use interdental brushes to sweep under the prosthetic bridge or bar.
3. Use a water flosser to flush out trapped food and reduce bacterial buildup.
4. If you wear an implant-supported overdenture, remove it daily and clean both the denture and the implant attachments (locators or bars) carefully.