A denture cleaner (also termed denture cleanser) is used to clean

denture Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable (removable partial denture or complet ...

s when they are out of the mouth. The main use is to control the growth of

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...

s on the dentures, especially ''

Candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

'', thereby preventing

denture-related stomatitis Denture-related stomatitis is a common condition where mild inflammation and redness of the oral mucous membrane occurs beneath a denture. In about 90% of cases, ''Candida'' species are involved, which are normally a harmless component of the oral ...

. When dentures are worn in the mouth, a

biofilm A biofilm is a Syntrophy, syntrophic Microbial consortium, community of microorganisms in which cell (biology), cells cell adhesion, stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy ext ...

develops which may be similar to

dental plaque Dental plaque is a biofilm of microorganisms (mostly bacteria, but also fungi) that grows on surfaces within the mouth. It is a sticky colorless deposit at first, but when it forms Calculus (dental), tartar, it is often brown or pale yellow. It is ...

. It may become hardened and mineralized as

dental calculus In dentistry, calculus or tartar is a form of hardened dental plaque. It is caused by precipitation of minerals from saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in plaque on the teeth. This process of precipitation kills the bacterial cells wit ...

. Denture cleansers are also used to remove stains and other debris that may be caused by diet, tobacco use, drinking coffee, drinking tea, etc. Some chemical denture cleaners can come in cream and liquid format. Others come in powder, paste, or tablet format. Some chemical denture cleaners are

effervescent Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same l ...

and others are not. There are also mechanical denture cleaners such as denture brushes and

ultrasonic Ultrasound is sound with frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply to any frequency range, includi ...

denture cleaners that use

ultrasonic cleaning Ultrasonic cleaning is a process that uses ultrasound (usually from 20 to 40 kHz) to agitate a fluid, with a cleaning effect. Ultrasonic cleaners come in a variety of sizes, from small desktop units with an internal volume of less than , to large ...

, some coupled with

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of th ...

Ingredients

Dilute

sodium hypochlorite Sodium hypochlorite is an alkaline inorganic chemical compound with the formula (also written as NaClO). It is commonly known in a dilute aqueous solution as bleach or chlorine bleach. It is the sodium salt of hypochlorous acid, consisting of ...

(i.e. a mild bleach) is the main constituent of several brands of denture cleanser. Other ingredients include such chemicals as: *

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

– or baking soda, which alkalizes the water, cleaning the dentures *

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...

– removes stains *

sodium perborate Sodium perborate are chemical compounds with chemical formula (H2O)x. Commonly encountered salts are the anhydrous form (x = 0) and as a hydrate, hexahydrate (x = 6). These two species are sometimes called, respectively, "monohydrate" or PBS-1 a ...

* sodium polyphosphate * potassium monopersulfate – cleaning and bleaching agent *

EDTA Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), also called EDTA acid, is an aminopolycarboxylic acid with the formula . This white, slightly water-soluble solid is widely used to bind to iron (Fe2+/Fe3+) and calcium ions (Ca2+), forming water-solubl ...

Example commercial brands

* Sodium hypochlorite solution: Dentural, Milton, Mildent * Alkaline peroxides: Steradent * Other: Polident, Renew, Efferdent, Novadent

History

Dentures have been cleaned using water or mixtures of water/vinegar, water/lemon juice, water/baking soda for many years. In the 1930s, Alexander Block developed the Polident brand of denture cleaner at the

Block Drug Block Drug Company was a pharmaceutical company based in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, that specialized in dental care products. Its most popular products included Polident denture cleanser, Poli-Grip denture adhesive, Dentu-Creme dentu ...

Company. Others have followed such as Warner-Lambert's introduction of Efferdent denture cleanser tablets in 1966 and Renew denture cleaner powder in 1986 by Mid-Continental Dental Supply Co. Ltd. Over time, orthodontic and sport dental appliance cleaners have also emerged on the market such as Renew Ortho & Sport with formulations that account for

thermoplastics A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains as ...

and a younger demographic of patients.

Clinical trials and evidence

Studies have found an association between denture stomatitis, colonization of yeasts and denture cleanliness. Another study found that immersing dentures in 0.5% NaOCl solution for 3 minutes only can be an effective synergic for denture cleaning in reducing the number of microorganism without affecting the denture color or surface roughness, and when compared to alkaline peroxides, bleach was more efficient. Some clinicians recommended that the time of immersion, and the concentration of the NaOCl should be well considered so as not to degrade the acrylic resin of the denture.

References

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External links

Renew Denture CleanerRenew Ortho & Sport CleanerXodent Denture Cleaning KitMilton Denture Cleaner
Cleaning products Prosthodontology