Most people don’t look to their retirement years hoping that they can finally get dentures. As more and more teeth problems arise within your mouth, you may have to extract increasing numbers of teeth. When you finally plan to get dentures, or if you have recently gotten them, it’s important to take proper care of them.
Cleaning them daily, keeping your gums and the inside of your mouth clean, and focusing on proper adhesion are all important. Yet far too many elderly individuals neglect their dentures and this causes more dental problems over time.
The Three Main Reasons Elderly People Neglect their Dentures
1. It’s too much effort. One of the most common reasons why people actually don’t take care of their teeth is because of the effort involved. They may brush twice a day, as recommended, but they only take 30 seconds or less to do it. Then they don’t floss or rinse with mouthwash.
It’s simply too much effort for them. That’s the same reason why so many elderly people don’t bother taking care of their dentures.
2. They don’t believe it’s all that necessary. After all, they reason, these are fake teeth. It’s not like they have to really take care of them as though they were real, right?
The truth is that it is just as important to spend some time and energy taking care of those dentures, not only for their longevity but also for good breath.
3. They forget. It’s easy to forget to take proper care of your dentures when you just take them out and place them in a cleaning solution at night. There is more to it than just rinsing them off, but once they’re out and you head to bed, you might forget about these other things.
For anyone who has dentures, it’s important to keep them in great shape, not only for their longevity but also for good breath, a healthy mouth, and wonderful smile.