My mom has had dentures for most of her adult life, and does the strangest things for health care. She is one of those "wives tale folks" that follows some weird things. anyway, I digress...my question is...

Can you bleach dentures safely? About once a month, she will remove her dentures, and pop them into a bleach bath. She used to do it more frequently when she smoked, but has long since quit. She swears it keeps them white, bright, and sanitized. She has had the same pair for a long time, but I worry about how caustic bleach can be to the dental material used to make her dentures. Will it cause them to wear out? make them fragile? Are there ill effects to her mouth tissues? She hasnt reported any, and swears that she rinses them really well, but soaking anything in full strength bleach cant be a good thing...can it?

btw, she does brush them everyday, and uses mouth wash or dental bath stuff to soak them at night. I have told her that her nightly soak should be enough to keep them white and bright, but she swears bleach kills more bacteria and keeps her mouth healthy. YUCK!

I remember when my husband got his partial. He was told to only use the bubble soak tablets. That brushing can cause pitting, then stains and also bacteria.

Hmmm...I would think bleach would pit them.

Hi Dejibo,

Your mom is right! Bleach will kill the bacteria on her full denture very well. Rather than go into a long explanation on how to care for dentures and partial dentures..... here is a good explanation on the web. I don't know who the dentist is... but his details on this subject are excellent!

http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/denture_home_care.htm

Bryanna

Hi Curious,

I posted a link to Dejibo about caring for dentures and partials. Perhaps your husband would find it helpful.....

By the way...... your grandbaby is beautiful!! Thanks so much for sharing her with us ~'.'~

Bryanna

Whodudda thunk it, mom was right I guess I will have to fess up and tell her what I found.

thanks for all the great replies.

Maybe she use a lemon or mint scented bleach?

Dej, has she said they are white? If so, I'd gladly send my MIL a case of bleach.

They are white, and when she smoked, it would rip the tar/nicotine right off those bad boys. you CANNOT change the normal color of the material used, but you can rip off blueberry, coffee, tea, nicotine, and loads of other stuff.

She said she uses 1/3 bleach 2/3 water to soak them. I always thought it was straight bleach. Anyway, she said she rinses, and rinses, and then rinses again so the tissue in her mouth isnt bothered by the residue from bleach. Some times she will rinse, and rinse, then pop them into a denture tablet bath to make sure they are rinsed well. She swears it takes layers of dirt and stain right off um.

Thats my momma!