There are around 35 million adults who are missing all of their teeth. While it’s safe to assume that not all of those people have dentures there’s a large amount who do, making dentures a pretty common part of life in the United States!

That means that denture cleaners are also on bathroom counters everywhere – you have to keep those dentures clean in order to stay healthy! We make dentures and treat denture patients at Edgewood Dental Care, which is why we feel the need to tell you about this startling fact: your denture cleaner could be toxic!

What’s The Dental Cleaner Danger?
There’s a particular chemical in many denture cleaners that is incredibly toxic: persulfate. While it’s very good at cleaning dentures it’s also deadly if consumed and can even cause serious allergic reactions with minimal contact!

Most of us wouldn’t imagine drinking denture water or somehow eating a denture cleaning tablet, but these kinds of accidents do happen! There are reports of people mistaking their denture tablets for alka seltzer, antacids, or even children thinking they’re candy. accidents do happen, and when they happen with persulfate they can be deadly.

Persulfate Allergies
While it’s not an incredibly common allergy, bad reactions to persulfate denture cleaner do happen. Even rinsing your dentures off first can still lead to a bad reaction, as can reaching into your soaking container to grab them.

Symptoms of persulfate allergies include:

  • damage to soft tissue in the mouth, on the lips, or hands
  • rashes or other forms of irritation
  • tenderness in your gums
  • lowering of blood pressure
  • problems breathing

Persulfate allergies can be serious, and it doesn’t take much exposure to trigger those kinds of reactions!

Persulfate Poisoning
Here’s where things really start to get frightening: persulfate poisoning can be dangerous enough to kill! While it isn’t common it still happens, so don’t underestimate or ignore the chances of serious bodily harm!

You may be experiencing persulfate poisoning if you have:

  • burns on soft tissue
  • severe stomach pains
  • blood in urine
  • internal bleeding
  • bleached spots on skin, gums, or other soft tissue
  • trouble breathing
  • low blood pressure
  • seizures

Persulfate poisoning can cause all of those things, and can also kill rather quickly. Don’t mess around with your denture cleaner if it contains this caustic chemical!

Alternatives To Persulfate
There are several different brands of denture cleaner that are persulfate free. You should be able to find some of them at your drugstore or grocery store, but there’s an even better alternative available as well: castile soap! This olive oil based soap is great at cleaning dentures, is safe, and is completely natural. You can find liquid castile soap at most drugstores and grocers as well.

Why Not Just Get Rid Of Your Dentures Completely?
You have another option too: you could just get rid of your dentures! Why go on living with teeth that fall out, don’t let you eat properly, are constantly uncomfortable, and could even be covered in toxic chemicals?

We’re proud to offer a variety of dental implant solutions at our Edgewood office, and each one can be customized to fit your unique needs!

Dental implants are titanium screws that are placed directly in your jaw. Once healed, dental implants are bonded to your bone through a process called osseointegration. This incredibly strong and permanent bond makes dental implants just as sturdy and reliable as natural teeth – you couldn’t get a better replacement for natural teeth.

We offer dental implants that completely replace your dentures with fixed-in-place, permanent teeth, and we can even do it in a single visit. Imagine coming to our office for a procedure and leaving without your dentures, but with a permanent new smile: it’s possible!

With dental implants you could be living every day just like you did when you had natural teeth: comfortably, easily, and without having to constantly worry about your smile. You can have it back at Edgewood Dental Care!

Why Wait Another Minute?
There’s really no reason to go on worrying about toxic denture cleaner or any of the other problems that dentures bring about. We can have you living comfortably and easy – and persulfate free – in just a couple of visits.

Make an appointment at Edgewood Dental Care today by calling 859-474-7830 or by filling out our online request form. We look forward to seeing you soon!