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How To Clean A Night Guard

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Many people suffer from bruxism which is commonly known as teeth grinding. It is a very irritating experience especially when you sleep with a spouse with this problem. Bruxism is an oral parafunctional activity; I can’t relate it to normal jaw / teeth movement because the sound it makes is irritating. However, science has come up with a solution to stop your teeth or jaws from moving while sleeping. Today many dentists recommend their patients to use teeth night grinding guards and they have proved to be effective. Since this night guard stays in your mouth the all night and it gets exposed to all sorts of bacteria in and out of your mouth, it has to be cleaned well and this has to be done on a daily basis. In this post, you will learn how to clean your night guard.

  • Clean it with a Toothbrush and toothpaste:- I think this is the easiest way of cleaning your nigh mouth guard because tools to be used are always available in your house, at least you don’t have to buy anything new. Just use the usual manual toothbrush you always use and normal toothpaste to clean your mouth guard. Make sure you clean each and every section the same way you do with your teeth. If you leave some areas with dirt, it will get transferred to your teeth / mouth and cause a serious infection which might cost you a fortune to cure. A mouth guard is very light so make sure you hold it well when cleaning it, otherwise if it falls in the floor, it can break into two parts. Always use a toothbrush with soft bristles because some toothbrushes have hard bristles which scratch and damage the guard. Instead of using cold water, try to use warm water, NOT HOT, luke warm water can kill germs if mixed with toothpaste.
  • Use Mouth Rinse:- If you brush your mouth guard with a manual toothbrush, you risk damaging it so rinsing it in a glass full of mouth wash sounds like a safe and easy method. Mouth rinsing is very effective method of killing germs and eliminating bad mouth breath. Since this method is effective on our teeth & mouth, it can still be effective at cleaning mouth guards. Simply put moderate amounts of mouth wash in a glass and soak mouth guard in a glass. Let the guard stay in the glass for at least 10 – 30 minutes. This will ensure that all germs are killed the mouth guard is dirt free and ready for use. Note: if you over rinse your mouth guard, it will stain. So do it for a short period of time. After rinsing it, the mouth guard will smell nice and feel clean in your mouth.
  • Use Soap and Water:- Much as most people clean their mouth guards with water and soap; I don’t see it an effective method. But I have listed it here simply because someone else is using this option. The only way you can be on a safety side is when you use warm water & soap to clean your mouth guard. Remember, a mouth guard has to be washed / cleaned on a daily basis just like you do with your teeth. So the best time to do this is in the morning because your mouth guard will have enough time to dry. I don’t recommend using that mouth guard when it’s still wet and at the same time I don’t recommend storing it when wet.
  • Clean it with Mouth guard cleaning tablets: – By far, this is the most popular method suggested by dentists. It will require you to buy special mouth guard cleaning tablets and powders. Go to the nearest drug store and ask for these tablets, if they don’t have them, try searching on AMAZON. If you get the right brand like ”Denture cleaning tablets”, your mouth guard will be well cleaned & sanitized. These cleaning tablets kill germs and remove strong stains from your guard making it 99% clean and safe to use.
  • Use Dental sanitizing devices: – I have come across these devices but I have not used them so I can’t say much about them. But I did some research on them and majority of people who have used them say that they do a pretty good job. This device can clean and sanitize your night guard dental protector. They differ in models and also the technology used to clean and sanitize your mouth guard differs. In terms of price, they don’t cost that much. I think you can afford them. Search on Amazon and compare prices.
  • Clean it with Natural cleaning methods: When I talk about cleaning your mouth guar with natural methods, I know what comes in your mind….(VINEGAR). Right, you can clean your mouth guard with vinegar, it is very effective and it kills germs faster. But you can also use lemon to clean your mouth guard. Actually me I would use lemon because it smells better than vinegar. However, before using any of these two natural products, talk to your doctor and get the right instructions on how to use them.
  • Try Professional dental cleaning.

RESOURCE:

http://mouthguardsforteethgrinding.com/how-to-clean-your-mouth-guard-effectively/

http://mouthguardsforteethgrinding.com/bruxism/

Vanilla Farmer, Amazon Retailer & Tech Researcher. Yosaki is my personal blog but I'm working on some big tech project back doors. I will keep on posting various topics on things I have knowledge about.

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