My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha by Jolie Kerr

Author:Jolie Kerr [Kerr, Jolie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-02-20T05:00:00+00:00

Mouth Guards and Retainers

While we’re on the subject of your gorgeous fangs, this is for real a query I got, complete with a photo illustrating exactly what the moldy retainer in question looks like. It is a glamorous job I have! And because I am a thoughtful and loving person, I’ll spare you the photographic evidence and just tell you what I told her.

I am very sad. I have this whitening tray mouthguard thing that has MOLD IN IT. If this were a sandwich, I’d throw it out. If this were a surface, I’d bleach the hell out of it. But this is a very expensive tray from my dentist that I hope to put in my mouth again at some point. I am afraid to boil it because I don’t want it to lose the shape of my teeth. Is this a lost cause? Bleaching it and putting it in my mouth seems like a thumbs-down idea to me.

So you’re absolutely right to think that bleach and/or boiling is a no-no. Plus, there’s an even easier fix for your problem: denture tablets. Put the mouth guard in a tall, narrow container so it will stay submerged, drop a denture tablet in, and cover it with lukewarm water. Let it sit for twenty or so minutes, then rinse and see how much has come off. If it’s loosened up a lot, go ahead and brush it with a toothbrush and toothpaste to remove the rest of the mold. If there’s still a lot of mold left on the guard, repeat the denture tablet process.

Just to be sure I was giving the best advice possible here, I checked in with a friend of mine who’s also a dentist. Here’s what Doug Barker, DMD, added to my tips.

Great advice regarding using denture tablets to clean the bleaching tray. I would just add that all commercial denture cleaners work the same. (In fact, I tell my patients to save a buck or two and get a generic pharmacy brand!) The main active ingredient is sodium bicarbonate, which you know as baking soda. It’s a cleaner, acid neutralizer, which combats bacteria, and will help to prevent plaque from forming. So the only addition to your advice I would include would be to brush the retainer with a baking soda toothpaste on the days that they’re not getting the full soaking treatment, which will help to cut down on the number of denture tablets she’s using.

Super! I love having knowledgeable friends! The last thing to add here is that you’ll also want to clean the container in which you store your retainer or mouthguard. Bleach or the dishwasher will be fine for that.

And speaking of denture tablets, do you know? There are a whole bunch of neat things that denture tablets do besides cleaning dentures and/or funky retainers. Which brings me to one of my favorite topics in the cleaning world: all the weird and wonderful unintended uses for various beauty products!

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