Tackling that niggling snoring problem might be the best decision you make this year, for both you and your partner. Not only will it help you get better quality sleep, but it is also a sure way to a healthier and stronger relationship with your better half. While worrying snoring will be a thing of the past, ensure your mouthguard remains clean before every use.
Anti-snoring mouthguards are among the most convenient, painless and comfortable treatments for individuals that snore. There are two main types of anti-snoring mouthguards, the tongue stabilizing device (TSD), and the Mandibular Advancement Device, (MAD). Each device is equally adept at helping prevent snoring, but you must consult your physician before settling on the device to use.
How to clean my mouthguard
Purchasing an anti-snoring mouthguard helps you do away with unwanted noises every sleep-time. However, while these devices lead to more comfortable and refreshing sleep, their use also requires utmost hygiene. There are multiple ways through which you can disinfect your anti-snoring mouthguard before every use. Often, disinfecting the mouthpiece with cool or room temperature water, mixed with non-whitening toothpaste. From the onset, it is important to note that baking soda is not a recommended cleaning and disinfecting agent when maintaining proper hygiene with your mouthguard.
Given the various do’s and don’ts when maintaining proper hygiene with your mouthguard, one must know the best way to clean a plastic mouthguard. This knowledge is essential to help ensure the longevity of both the device and your continued oral hygiene. Accordingly, some of the important tips include:
The Recommended Ways to Clean your Mouthguard
Ordinarily, rinsing your mouthpiece clean will not be enough to ensure an optimally clean device. There are various microorganisms that you’ll need to rid the mouthguard off consistently to ensure you maintain your oral health at a perfect level. Accordingly, here are some of the hygienic practices you should consider.
i. Soak the Device in Vinegar and Water once every week.
Soaking mouthguard in vinegar is among the most effective ways to ensure the device is free of germs. However, the proper procedure to do this is often hazy and unclear. Most individuals using anti-snoring devices will often wonder how to clean a mouthguard with vinegar. Well, good news to you, for all it takes to ensure your device is clean and germ-free is to soak it in white vinegar and water for some five or so minutes. With the help of your regular toothbrush, scrub the guard thoroughly while it’s still in the solution. Once you are done, rinse the mouthguard with clean water to ensure no traces of vinegar are left. As a rule of thumb, always do this once a week to ensure your device is perfectly clean.
ii. Use Baking Soda and Water
A second, but a less popular option is to use baking soda and water while cleaning the mouthguard. Unlike soaking the device in vinegar, this option requires you to create a paste from baking soda and water. This paste is then applied uniformly on the entire device and left to sit for some three minutes. After that, the guard the paste is then washed off the guard with cold water. Again, this cleaning method should only be carried out once every week.
iii. Use of Denture Tablets
You can also clean mouth guard with denture cleaner tablets to a high degree of effectiveness. Once more, this should only be done once a week, following the directions that come with the specific denture tablets.
The Don’ts When Cleaning your Mouthguard
While the above are among the best ways to clean a plastic mouthguard, there are nevertheless, wrong ways to do the same. Such methods come with various risks including, permanently damaging your teeth, and the mouthpiece too. Some of the methods you should not dare attempt to include:
i. Avoid Bleach, Ammonia, Alcohol and other Abrasive Cleaners
Abrasive chemicals such as bleach, ammonia and alcohol, are often the go-to option when you want to disinfect the household. However, these methods are the absolute worst when looking for answers on how to disinfect mouth guard. It should be noted that while these chemicals are perfect for most surfaces, they are all a terrible option with mouthguards. Soaking such a guard often makes the chemicals hard to rinse off. Consequently, you can find these chemicals sitting within your mouth for hours on end, and in the process erode the teeth and gums. To ensure your oral health does not suffer such a fate, it is best to avoid such abrasive cleaners when wondering how to clean night guard. Instead, softer varieties such as vinegar and regular toothpaste are advised as they have sufficient capabilities to disinfect the mouth. To this end, too, be sure to avoid wipes as a cleaning agent. Such wipes often feature an abrasive cleaning agent. As mentioned, this could be detrimental to your overall health.
ii. Do not Soak the Mouthpiece for Prolonged periods
After it has been cleaned, it is best to keep your mouthpiece safely away in a cool, dry place. No, letting it soak for days on end on a glass of water is ill-advised. Good news for you, though, for most anti-snoring devices come with their own storage instructions, plus a storage case that helps keep moisture away.
iii. Avoid Boiling Water
Another way through which germs can be killed, that’s accepted universally is through the use of boiling water. However, this move would be utterly detrimental when used on a mouthguard. Not only could the said guard risk losing its shape and a few of its functionalities. An ill-shaped and ill-fitting mouthpiece are often not as effective in performing its functions, as a new piece. Moreover, such a mouthpiece, when deformed also become more and more uncomfortable with continued deformation due to continued use of hot water.
On the whole, you must keep your mouthguard clean all times. When such proper maintenance is maintained, the guard’s lifespan is greatly increased. Moreover, the mouthpiece will be free from other unwanted traits, including:
- Bad Odours
- Acquiring a bitter/sour taste
- Discolouration
- Residue deposits on the guard
Development of Plaque
Worse still, infrequent cleaning of the guard is a sure way to have you suffer from plaque. It is well established that cleaning a mouthguard is just as necessary as brushing your teeth frequently, and flossing every now and then. Failure to maintain the needed hygiene levels often only leads to plague that’s hard to clean off settling on the mouthpiece. In such a case, removing the said plague is often difficult, although not entirely impossible. With a few, easy tricks, you can learn how to remove plaque from a mouthguard.
Among the most important methods to ensure your teeth thoroughly include use of prescription-based tablet denture cleaners. Most times, these tablets come with easy, self-use instructions that are highly effective when used. Moreover, hydrogen peroxide is also a suitable alternative option to help whiten your guard and/or mouth. To this end, you should not soak the device for more than 30 minutes per round, and this should be followed by a thorough rinse and soaking in clean water for some 30 minutes. In ensuring your guard gets a proper soak, you can rest easier for your oral health will be better maintained.
All in all, multiple ways exist through which you can adopt to have your mouthguard be clean at all time and your oral hygienic standards at a high level. From regular toothpaste, vinegar and denture cleaning tablets and so many more. Some methods are unsuitable and mostly harmful to your health. Accordingly, such methods, including the use of bleach, and ammonia. By reading through the cleaning guide, however, you will be better prepared to manage the cleaning needs that come with your mouthguard.