Tips to Clean A Mouth Guard

A mouth guard is a device which is used to protect the teeth and gums from injury or any other damage, and is used usually during contact sports or to protect dentally treated teeth. You must have seen boxers and athletes with these guards during a match, as these sports could injure the mouth parts such as your lips, teeth, gums and arches.

Other than sports, mouth guards are also used if you have been through certain dental treatment and need to protect your teeth and gums from exposure to external factors. But these useful covers need to be cleaned timely, as they can have various types of germs and infections from the mouth deposited on them.

Since they protect the mouth from dust, food particles, plaque, etc., these too are deposited on them and should be washed or sterilized. Therefore, if you want to know what could be your options for the best mouth guard cleaner, read into the coming up paragraphs and find out.

As mentioned in the introduction, a mouth guard is a protective device that keeps your mouth from any kind of physical or medical injury. Food particles, saliva, chemical elements from water and various gases from the air, physical injuries, etc., are all threats to the mouth parts and internal organs if ingested.

But before they reach any internal organs, they are deposited on our tongue, teeth and gums. When you use a mouth guard for teeth grinding while sleeping, for protecting your dentures or teeth while playing, there are foreign particles deposited on its surface.

Thus, in order to keep this guard useful for a longer time, it needs to be cleaned daily, with an effective mouth guard cleaner. There are many liquids, tablets, and homemade remedies which are used to clean this mouth guard, and to sterilize the guard faster. So, here's a list of these commercial and homemade ways to clean mouth guards.

The first on our list of best mouth guard cleaners, are a few products found in the market. These commercial cleaners can either be tablets or disinfectors, which help in cleaning the mouth guard with chemicals and radiation.

To name a few, there are flavored refresher tablets called OPROrefresh, which have antibacterial components, and remove stains. Another product is the Brain Pad-Mouth Guard-Ozone Disinfector, which is a micro UV Ozone sanitizing chamber that holds the mouth guard and radiates it to kill bacteria.

The most basic liquid used to clean a mouth guard is water. You can heat the water till it is slightly warm and then add some toothpaste to it. Don't boil the water too much as the guard cannot tolerate extreme heat.

Place the mouth guard in a bowl with this mixture and using a toothbrush, gently clean the surface of the guard. You can use this method only if you make minimal use of the guard. This method is usually advised for sports persons as they require the guard only while playing.

Using a mixture of 1 part bleach, 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water is also known to be one of the best cleaning methods for mouth guards. In a bowl, make this mixture and soak the guard in it for about 30 to 40 minutes, so that the particles are removed from the guard.

After soaking, rinse the mouth guard thoroughly with lukewarm water about 5 to 6 times. Make sure you wash off all the residue of the bleach, using a brush, as there can be chances of ingesting the bleach.

Using specific antibacterial chemicals can also be one of the most effective ways of cleaning a mouth guard. Mouth guards are usually made of thermoplastic material, which can degrade faster by cleaning with soaps or toothpaste very often.

Hydrogen peroxide is one such material that can clean the mouth guard off the bacteria and deposited particles, without any damage to the plastic. But since it is a very strong chemical, dentists advise 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide with 2 parts lukewarm water.

Place the mouth guard in a bowl with this mixture and soak it overnight or for a few hours. You can then rinse it thoroughly with warm water to remove all the residue.

With these different choices for a mouth guard cleaner, hope you have picked up the method you think is best for you. A clean mouth guard is always a safe one.