How Long to Soak Dentures in Vinegar

People are turning to natural methods to clean dentures and other oral devices, and one natural cleaner is vinegar. Compared with commercial denture-cleaning products, natural cleaning solutions can take a little longer to clean your dentures.

Daily Care

• Vinegar is part of a larger dental routine.

  To care for your dentures every day, brush them with denture cleaner to remove plaque. Baking soda is a natural denture cleaner. To integrate vinegar into your daily-care routine, let dentures sit in a 50 percent vinegar, 50 percent water solution for 15 minutes after you brush. This daily soak, called immersion cleaning, cleans the dentures and prevents partials from degrading at the clasps.

Weekly Treatment

• Always brush your dentures before soaking them.

  Every week, remove the dentures and brush them well. Dentures also need a weekly deep clean. Some dentists recommend soaking them in a bleach solution for the weekly cleaning, but white vinegar is effective in removing any heavy tartar deposits. Vinegar needs time to work. Soaking the dentures in vinegar overnight yields the best effects.

Bacteria and Fungi

• Soaking dentures overnight allows vinegar to clean and whiten them.

  A daily or weekly soaking of vinegar removes stains and sanitizes the dentures. Aside from removing tartar, one of the benefits of vinegar is that it kills bacteria and prevents the overgrowth of yeast and fungi, which many people have in their mouths. This prevents oral infections like thrush.