Cleaning a Night Guard

We at the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania treat a lot of people who have suffered damage from temporomandibular joint disorder. Many of them damaged their teeth by grinding or clenching them at night. But some people have a lot of success using night guards to avoid tooth damage or protect replacement teeth. Since we want patients to be able to enjoy their teeth for as long as possible, we wanted to provide some guidance on cleaning night guards and preventing oral infections.

Wearers will remove their night guard each morning upon waking up. There are antibacterial rinses commercially available for soaking night guards in, and antibacterial soap and water work well for cleaning, too. But people still commonly brush their night guards to ensure they have removed bacterial build-up. If they do, it is important for them to avoid hard-bristled toothbrushes or toothpaste with extra fluoride, which won’t protect plastic and may even scratch it.

The protocol for maintaining a night guard doesn’t differ too much from maintaining a denture, except for one key thing: a night guard needs to be kept dry. The case it is kept in should be ventilated and should also be cleaned daily with antibacterial soap. When not in use, the night guard should be kept out of extreme heat, which could warp it. A wearer should always brush and floss prior to putting it back in at night.

The Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania operate in Philadelphia, Folsom, and Clifton Heights. Visit Oral Surgery PA or call 215-463-4141.