Care and Cleaning: A Two-Part Process
Care and cleaning are different but related. They are both equally important. Cleaning helps keep your guard healthy and bacteria-free, while care is related to how it is used, stored, etc. They both have an impact on health and longevity. We have some cleaning tips to keep your night guard cleaner and healthier.
Take Care of Your Night Guard, and It Will Take Care of You
Taking care of your night guard is actually pretty easy and should become second nature.
Keep your guard in a proper, perforated container. It probably came in one, so use it. This will help with protection and ventilation.
To keep its shape intact and undistorted, avoid hot temperatures. These can be caused by hot water, hot surfaces, and also direct sunlight.
Keep it out of reach of pets or young children.
How to Clean a Night Guard
There’s no one way to clean a night guard. The good news is there are several ways to effectively clean it. Here are some night guard cleaning tips.
Cleaning: The most common way to clean a night guard is the same way you clean your teeth, with a toothbrush and toothpaste. if you’re going to use toothpaste, it needs to be a non-abrasive one to reduce the chances of any kind of scratching. For some people water is sufficient for night guard cleaning, but you can also clean it in cool, soapy water using dish detergent—or add a denture cleaner.
Give It A Soak: For things like calcium deposits, soaking your night guard in a solution of white vinegar and water should do the trick.
Hydrogen Peroxide: You can also use a solution of hydrogen peroxide to effectively clean your night guard.
Deep Clean: If you want a deep clean, you can do both vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Do thirty minutes of vinegar, rinse the guard, and follow up with thirty minutes of hydrogen peroxide.
Don’t Forget the Case
It can contribute to bacterial growth if it’s not cleaned too. The inside of the case should be as clean as the night guard is. So make time to clean your night guard case regularly. Once a week should do it. This might be our most unexpected (but important) night guard cleaning recommendation.
Dry Is Good
Bacteria is the enemy of oral health. So even though your night guard is clean, you’re not done. Never put it in the case wet. That can become a breeding round. Always allow your night guard to dry before putting it away.
The easiest method is to air dry it. But if you’re in a time crunch, a hair dryer set on low can help. But avoid manually drying it with a towel which can leave lint behind or may be harboring bacteria of its own.
