I have to wear a night guard on my upper teeth every night to prevent damage to my teeth because I grind my teeth during the night. Has anyone had any experience with one of these things? Mine has gotten stained and smells terrible.
Have you tried a denture cleaner? They clean and deordorize dentures. Perhaps they would do a good job on your mouthguard. If they don't work for your mouthguard, you can always use them to clean your toliet bowl.
Try brushing with toothpaste then letting it soak in mouthwash during the day.
Try soaking your guard in hydrogen peroxide, as the smell comes from bacteria, and the peroxide should oxidize(kill) it. You can follow up with another soaking in a denture cleaning tab or mouthwash to freshen it.
I brush it with toothpaste in the morning, then soak it during the day in a 50% water/50% blue Listerine. It never smells anymore. I replace this solution weekly.
The 40% alcohol in Listerine also does a pretty good job of killing bacteria while it soaks.
I've had the same problem - the bacteria coming from your mouth is the issue. Soak it in hydrogen peroxide (get it at the supermarket) - the same stuff women used to beach their hair with - it will kill the bacteria and the staining...just make sure you rinse it sufficiently afterward.
I soaked my nightguard in dilute bleach - at my dentist's recommendation - but now I can't get the bleach taste to go away, despite many attempts to rinse off the guard or soak it in water. Any suggestions for how to get rid of the bleachy taste so I can start wearing my nightguard again?
I'll definitely be trying a different cleaning method next time!
I soak mine in denture cleaner all the time, so it does not smell, but it does not look great from years of wear.
To TRY to get rid of the stains I have put it in the dishwasher, soaked it in Oxy-Clean (that works for most everything else), used peroxide and baking soda as a paste in the sun. No luck, still ugly
Using the denture cleaner keeps it fresh though. Sometimes I am good and soak it everyday. Most times not. Because it is ugly, I store it in a ceramic covered dish - it was a cheesy jewelry box someone gave me, but is perfect to hide the mouth guard on my bathroom counter, and to also soak it in denture cleaner.
I wore a retainer then a night guard during my years of braces. As an adult, I wore a night guard because of grinding.
Both my orthodontist and my dentist told me to use the effervescent denture cleaner daily. I had my retainer for years and my night guard as well.
If I was out of the cleaner I would use listerine.
Remember to brush your teeth and use listerine before you put on your night guard.
I store my night guard in distilled white vinegar. The denture tabs did nothing, and it was tedious to brush it with baking soda. The vinegar kills many types of bacteria, plus it dissolves any calcium deposits that trap odor and bacteria. It stays clean and clear, and the lining is not affected as it may be with chlorine bleach. Eureka.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have only had mine a week and despite thorough cleaning it smells like dog poo, not good when you have to put it in your mouth. Is this normal? I'm now worried about the effect on my teeth, although it is to protect them from grinding. I wonder if it's worth it.
By Basil
Every morning I brush and rinse my mouth guard with toothpaste and water. I dry it and then coat it with coconut oil which has anti-fungal, antibacterial and ant-viral properties. It has zero smell and the coconut oil helps reduce strep counts. I keep the coconut oil in my mouth guard while I use it at night.
