Cleaning a Dental Appliance

[Rachel E]

We had a thread like this a couple of years ago, but there were so few of us trying to figure things out. It is nice not to be lonely on this forum anymore!

Here is a topic for discussion.

Cleaning

Not too much work in the whole Dental Appliance treatment, but we need to clean the thing well or........well, you know. So, what do you do to keep it fresh?

I do use the denture weekly or so. I also pour listerine, citrus (ok, Walmart brand) over the whole thing after brushing (daily) and then rinse and DRY it leaving it in the open container. I have found that gel toothpaste does not work as well for me and the stiffer the brush the better. I have the hard lining in my TAP.

My TAP is a couple of years old but I have only been using it every night since mid July.

Any other methods to share????
Rae

[mrbilljax]

If you'll read the owners manual for the TAP devices, the manufacturer suggests using a "soft toothbrsh, cool water and antibacterial liquid soap" each morning after use. This has the added benefit when done after brushing your teeth of cleaning your toothbrush as well!
If you feel that your TAP is still not fresh enough for you, you may use a 50% solution of mouthwash and water every 2 weeks. The manufacturer warns that mouthwash and denture cleanser can cause the plastic materials of the appliance to deteriorate more rapidly though. Using this method of cleaning my TAP and now my TAP T has worked well for me. Hope this helps! Bill

[snork1]

I spray my TAP with a dilute vinegar spray every morning (an old CPAP trick) when I first take it out. Then after a few seconds I rinse it then use my sonicare toothbrush on it with whatever toothpaste I am using. I let it air dry in the open all day if possible.

Then every week or two, I soak it in denture cleaner in that vibratey thing that came with my TAP.

So far so good....

It did get a tiny bit nasty occasionally when I was travelling in Greece for a few weeks, just rinsing it under whatever disgusting local water supply was available, used a normal toothbrush on it, and had to pack it away sealed most days for travel. Not nearly as nasty as CPAP mask would have gotten under the circumstances though!