Teeth are arguably one of the most important bone sets in your body. There are an approximate 12 million Canadians today that need at least one dental treatment. Although a reported 73% of Canadians report brushing twice a day, an estimated 7 out of 10 Canadians develop gum disease at some point in their lives.

As the baby boomer generation gets older, the number of people needing dentures has drastically increased in the last decade. In 2012, the dental implant industry was worth an estimated 12 million dollars. The name for a doctor who handles dentures and implants is a Denturist- Canada is home to 4 colleges of Denturism, and about 2,000 individuals recognized as Denturists.

The methods to take care of dentures are pretty basic- take them out at night, soak them, give your mouth a break. Brush them with denture safe toothpaste at least once a day, and make sure you rinse them before you put them back in your mouth. However, no matter how careful you are, dentures can yellow and grow dull over time. Before you make a call to the denture clinic for whitening, read the following tips to whiten dentures at home.

• First, give them a solid scrub with a nail brush and some plain soap. Do NOT ever use toothpaste to whiten dentures, as this will abrade the surface, removing the gloss and making them look worse, as well as easier to stain in the future.
• Second, soak them in a quality denture cleaner; this is not the time for the bargain product! You should soak your dentures in cleaner overnight once a week and no more, so the gums don’t begin to bleach out.
• Consider an ultrasonic denture cleaner, which uses sonic technology to deep clean your dentures. This technology also loosens stains and bacteria, so after scrubbing and soaking your dentures, scrubbing them again should take off any extra stubborn surface stains.

One thing you should beware of, is teeth whitening methods that tell you to use bleach- a bleach solution that is too strong can ruin your dentures completely. If the above process doesn’t work, you should be in touch with your denturist and making an appointment for them to whiten dentures.