How to Keep Your Mouthguard Clean

Introduction

The mouthguard is one of the most common oral appliances used by people across the globe to keep their teeth protected from the damaging effects of grinding and clenching. They're a great way to stop discomfort, and fractures that might result from grinding teeth at night.

One method of treating bruxism is to wear a night guard over the top and bottom rows of your teeth while you sleep. This provides a physical barrier between the upper and lower teeth and eliminates the risk of tooth enamel being worn away through grinding.

If your dentist suggests wearing one, they'll always advise keeping it clean and occasionally sanitising it. However, very often users don't know how to properly clean or care for their mouthguards.

In this blog, we will be discussing more on mouthguards and how one can properly care and keep their mouthguard disinfected.

A mouthguard or “teeth guard” is a dental device that covers and protects teeth either from injury from sports or from grinding and clenching of teeth while sleeping at night. Its use is recommended to both children and adults to provide ease from bruxism and/or sports injury.

If you frequently wear a mouthguard, you must be aware of the reasons why it is so important to keep it clean. Whether you use a nocturnal guard for teeth grinding or an athletic mouthguard for protection from sports injuries, appropriate care and maintenance of hygiene levels is crucial.

Simply put, just as it's important to maintain good oral hygiene by brushing your teeth and washing your gums thoroughly to keep germs and plaque at bay, maintaining a clean, clear mouthguard can help it last longer and reduce your risk of getting sick.

Here are a few crucial things to remember if you want to keep your mouthguards clean and your oral health in check.

Night guards and mouthguards, when worn frequently, can accumulate nasty bacteria that can do more harm than good to your teeth and gums. If left unchecked, your mouth guard will quickly acquire an unpleasant odour, and fill with plaque, dirt & calcium.

• According to experts, the ideal method for cleaning a mouthguard is to brush it daily with a toothbrush and toothpaste or mild detergent, in a manner similar to how you brush your teeth.

• Be sure to rinse your mouthguard thoroughly with lukewarm water and dry it fully before storing it in its ventilated case.

• Make sure to keep the mouthguard in a clean, vented container.

You can also use -

1. Mild detergent,

One can use mild, alcohol free antibacterial detergent, dish soap or castile soap to keep their mouth guard clean.

• Rinse mouthguard in lukewarm water.

• Apply a small amount of mild soap (alcohol free).

• Thoroughly brush the mouthguard with a toothbrush.

• Rinse the mouthguard and toothbrush with lukewarm water to remove dirt and plaque.

• Let the mouthguard dry.

2. Mouth wash

• Due to its antibacterial qualities, mouthwash is perfect for daily cleaning of your mouthguard. To prevent your mouthguard from being damaged, always make sure to use non-alcoholic mouthwash.

• Rinse your mouthguard in lukewarm water, then add some mouthwash to clean the glass. Finally, add water to the mixture until it is diluted enough to cover your mouthguard. After 30 minutes, remove it and give it a thorough rinse with water.

3. Baking soda

To remove bad smell and debris from mouthguard, baking soda would be one of the best products to use.

• Make a paste in a clean bowl by mixing equal parts baking soda and water.

• In the paste, dip a toothbrush.

• Brush your mouthguard gently.

• Use lukewarm water to rinse your mouthguard.

• Dry off the mouthguard.

Conclusion

Mouthguards can be a useful tool for protecting teeth both at night or on the sports field. By taking good care of the mouth guard, it will be able to serve its purpose for as long as feasible.

Make sure to brush and floss your teeth before putting on your mouthguard and when you pull it out, clean it with a mild toothpaste, antibacterial detergent, or alcohol-free mouthwash

Before storing your mouthguard, let it air dry completely as bacterial growth may be encouraged by any remaining residual moisture.

If you follow the above daily instructions on how to keep your mouthguard clean, you will get many stress free years of usage out of it and never need to worry about damaging your teeth or gums.

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