Assisting with Teeth and Denture Cleaning

Brushing teeth

• Explain to the person what you will do
• Apply gloves
• Put a small towel to protect clothing under their neck
• Ensure they are sitting up
• Moisten tooth brush and apply small amount of toothpaste
• Let them brush their own teeth if possible
• If not – carefully brush teeth by making small circular motions on the front, top and back of teeth
• Give the client a glass of water and instruct to rinse well
• Provide a container to rinse into

Cleaning Dentures

• Explain what you are going to do
• Gather equipment
• When assisting someone to clean dentures you should always apply gloves
• Place small towels or paper towels under persons neck
• Ask person to remove dentures. If they need assistance press your thumb against the inside of the front teeth and then push up and outwards towards the nose.
• Give the person a wash cloth to wash their chin after they have removed dentures
• Ask them to place dentures into a denture cup
• Handle the dentures with care, place a clean wash cloth in the sink just encase, the dentures are dropped during cleaning
• Turn on cold water and brush all surfaces of the upper and lower plates with a soft brush
• Rinse the denture cup and place the dentures back into the cup
• Offer them water to rinse their mouth and use a small basin for them to spit the solution into when finished.
• If they would like to place these back in – they may need a denture application powder applied to keep them in place – follow instructions from manufacturer
• If not putting them back in, fill denture cup with cool water and put in a denture cleaning tablet for soaking overnight.
• Clean all items used and dispose of gloves.