4 Important Reasons Why You Should Remove Your Dentures Before Going to Bed

As important as dentures are in replacing missing teeth, they're not designed to carry out this function while you're sleeping. Dentures are specifically meant to give you a full set of teeth for daily activities such as eating, chewing, talking, and consuming beverages. But all too often, patients with dentures either forget or prefer to spend the night with dentures still inside their mouths.

Sleeping with your dentures on can have significant health consequences. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you remove your dentures, clean them, and soak them in water (or a denture solution) before you go to bed. Here are four reasons why removing your dentures before sleeping is so important.

1. Prevent overnight

As strong and durable as dentures are, they can gradually become worn out when left in the mouth overnight. Sleeping with your dentures on exposes them to bacteria that can wear away denture components over time. You're also likely to grind your dentures and make them more susceptible to damage.

2. Can increase your risk of bacterial infections

Even more importantly, dentures can expose you to bacterial infections if you sleep with them on. This is because microscopic bacteria from the dentures can easily transfer into your mouth and inside your lungs or digestive system.

Once bacteria enters the mouth or lungs, you can be vulnerable to many different types of infections, including pneumonia and gum disease. The good news is that you can prevent these risks by simply removing your dentures before you go to sleep.

3. Can result in mouth soreness

Most dentures are designed to fit as comfortably as possible against the surface of your gums. However, if the dentures remain in your mouth for too many hours at a time, you may begin to experience soreness and swelling. This swelling is caused by a combination of both bacteria and yeast accumulating in parts of the affected areas over time.

The soreness and inflammation may also cause tender and bleeding gums, which may further affect your oral health.

4. Affects breathing patterns

Sleeping with dentures may also affect how you breathe. While most breathing occurs through the nose, some air still passes through your mouth at any given time. Dentures may disrupt the smooth flow of air and make breathing slightly more uncomfortable as you sleep.

While the above conditions may sound scary, the solution is simple; make sure you remove your dentures before going to bed and talk to a dentist about any denture concerns you have..

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