How to clean a dental mouth guard?

If you wear a stress breaker mouth guard at night to prevent bruxism, and you do not know how to clean it, we offer you some simple steps below.

Daily cleaning

It is important to rinse the mouth guard or transparent dental brace, as soon as it is removed from your mouth, so that bacteria do not begin to proliferate on its surface.

Furthermore, the remains of saliva may begin to smell and deteriorate on the surface of the night-time protector; hence, it is also necessary to brush it helping to eliminate the remaining bacteria and detain the formation of plaque.

It is advisable to use a different toothbrush to your normal one or even to use a specific prostheses brush. The brush must be soft or medium to avoid possible damage to the dental protector.

It is not recommended to use toothpaste on your brush to clean the mouth guard, since most toothpaste contains abrasive components that accelerate their wear and tear. In certain cases, they may even cause more scratches and, therefore, reduce its useful life.

Drying the mouth guard before storing it is essential to avoid the accumulation of bacteria. It is recommended to leave the protector on a dry flat surface for 15-20 minutes.

Keeping the mouth guard in a box is crucial to prevent the accumulation of bacteria or damp.

Weekly clean

All these instructions are to clean the mouth guard on daily basis. However, it is important to carry out an in-depth cleaning once a week as well, and that way you will also see if your mouth guard is turning yellow.

There are three ways to do this quickly and effectively to ensure good maintenance:

• Use a specific prostheses cleaner. The formats that can be found are tablets that dissolve in water. It is necessary to leave the mouth guard in soak for more or less 20 minutes, as recommended by the manufacturer, and never longer than recommended.
• As a home-made method, a mixture of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide can be used. The mouth guard must be in soak for a maximum of 30 minutes. Once this time has gone by, you have to wash the mouth guard well with lukewarm water.
• Wash it every few days with water and washing up liquid or with neutral soap. Ensure that you rinse it well, so the mouth guard does not taste of detergent when it is placed in your mouth.

Clean the case well

It is also important to keep clean the case or box in which you store the mouth guard to prevent bacteria from accumulating in the container. When it is dirty or at least once a week with washing up liquid or by placing it in the dishwasher.