Best Mouth Guard Cleaner
Mouthguards are invaluable pieces to have for people who practice sports or suffer from conditions such as sleep apnea or bruxism. Mouthguards usually fulfill one of two roles (either push the jaw forward to allow better air intake or protect the teeth, gums, and tongue against injuries), but regardless of what they help you with, cleaning them is a daily activity that should not be taken lightly. Today’s topic covers why and how we have to clean them every night, as well as a quick recap of the best mouthguard cleaners on the market.
| Rank | Product | Highlights |
| #1 |  Dental Duty
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| #2 |  M3 Naturals
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| #3 |  Fresh Guard
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| #4 |  Retainer Brite
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| #5 |  Fancymay
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Cleaning a Mouthguard
Needless to say, a mouthguard can be quite a high-maintenance product that you’ll have to clean every day. Cleaning a mouthguard isn’t that of a lengthy process, but to some people, the idea of having to do it every day might seem a little bit tedious. Proper mouthguard cleaning is basically an important matter or oral hygiene, which is why you should make it part of your daily routine if a mouthguard is an item that you use every night.
If you want to avoid the threat of tens of thousands of bacteria residing on your mouthguard, here are some tips for proper maintenance:
- Every time you remove the mouthguard from your mouth, you should rinse it with hot water. This will give the piece a short cleansing that will remove loosen plaque that might be stuck to it. Remember that you should never use really hot water because it can deform the mouthguard, especially if the one you’re using is a boil and bite piece.
- Never be shy of using a toothbrush for cleaning your mouthguard. In fact, you can purchase one that’s solely for this purpose. Because of how it’s constructed, a toothbrush can do a really good job in cleaning even places that are difficult to reach otherwise, like small indentations and curves on your mouthpiece. You don’t have to use a toothbrush for your mouthguard, but there are other solutions you can try instead, like mouthguard cleaners. It is best to avoid toothpaste because of its abrasive nature that might scratch the surface of the nightguard.
- After each cleaning of your mouthguard, make sure that you place it on a flat and clean surface and leave it to dry. If the mouthguard isn’t dry before you place it inside its designated case, it will lie in an enclosed and humid space that favors the apparition of bacteria. A mouthguard that’s just been cleaned should dry out in about 15 to 30 minutes.
- Make sure that you always have a protective case for your mouthguard, just as you should have a cap for your toothbrush. Regardless of the clean place where you normally would keep a mouthguard, it is very easy for the mouthguard to become a bacteria magnet in no time. Some people make the mistake of storing the mouthguard in their bathroom, but that’s a really humid and non-favorable storage environment. The best solution would be to have a protective case and keep your mouthguard in the nightstand.
- And while we’re on the topic of storage, always make sure that you clean the protective case on a regular basis. Caring for your mouthguard won’t do a great deal of good if you place it in a dirty case after cleaning it. You can use regular dish soap detergent, but make sure you don’t use high-temperature water as this could warp the case and render it unusable. After washing the case, apply the same drying rule as you would for the mouthpiece and avoid using these two together while either one of them is still wet.
A very important cleaning tip is to always make sure that you deep clean your mouthguard once per week. Deep cleaning is a bit different compared to the average rinse, and it will require using either a store-bought or homemade solution that will basically disinfect the mouthguard and destroy all potential bacteria, plaque, and debris that might reside on the mouthguard.
The “easiest way out” would be to purchase a mouthguard cleaning solution, which is an over-the-counter formula that doesn’t contain alcohol and is used to sanitize a mouthguard as a single soak.
There are, however, people that refuse to spend money on such a product and instead use different other solutions to keep their mouthguards clean. One such popular alternative is a mixture made with hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. You can place your mouthguard in distilled white vinegar for half an hour, and then rinse the product with water. Dip the piece in hydrogen peroxide for another half an hour, rinse it, and allow it to fully dry.
Some people also like to use a mixture of water and mouthwash. Grab a clean bowl, pour a capful of mouthwash inside and then fill with water until the liquid can completely cover the mouthguard. Leave the piece to soak in the solution for 30 minutes, rinse, and leave out to dry for half an hour or until completely dry.
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Best Mouthguard Cleaners
Now that you know a little bit about what it means to really clean your mouthpiece, let’s examine what are some of the best mouthguard cleaners so that you can take a load off your shoulder and buy a product that was specifically designed to fulfill this role.
Dental Duty
Specs:
- Contents: 120 tablets
- Good for: Dentures, Retainers, Night Guards, Mouth Guard, and Removable Dental Appliances
Customer’s choice
This is a pack of 120 tablets that can help you clean your retainer and your mouthguard, but it also works fine with dentures. The manufacturer claims that the formula is efficient enough to destroy 99 percent of the bacteria that may reside on any of the aforementioned products. The instructions are very simple, as they are with most similar products: you just dissolve one tablet in a glass with warm water. Place the mouthguard inside the glass in the bubbling blue solution, allow it to completely soak in that solution for almost 10 minutes, remove it and rinse it.
The tablets aren’t just efficient in disinfecting the mouthguard, but they also leave a nice minty flavor behind, almost as if you had cleaned your mouthguard with toothpaste. The ingredients inside the formula will help whiten and brighten dental fixtures, but they are really great at cleaning other mouthpieces, as well.
Pros:
- Mint flavor.
- Good for multiple appliances.
- Customer favorite.
- Less than 30 minutes cleaning process.
Cons:
- Some complaints about bad taste.
Who Should Buy This?
If you’d like to purchase a set of mouthguard cleaning tablets that customers have grown to use and love and recommend to others, Dental Duty is the right product to start with. It’s also great for those who have other dental appliances they want to be cleaned, not just mouthguards.
M3 Naturals
Specs:
- Contents: 120 tablets
- Good for: dentures, retainers, aligners, Invisalign, mouth guards
Best overall
When it comes to good mouthguard cleaners, the M3 is just about as good as they get. This is a 120-pack of tablets that are meant to clean 99 percent of the odor-causing bacteria that could normally be found on your oral appliance. They are an effective and easy-to-use solution designed to clean the mouthpiece and remove any unwanted odor in the process.
Because of the mixture of ingredients, these tablets are designed to remove discoloration and to disinfect a series of products, such as sports guards, snore guards, aligners, retainers, dentures, and other oral appliances. They work similarly to other cleaning tablets. You drop them in warm water, put the oral appliance inside, soak it for about 10 minutes, remove, rinse, dry, and store.
Pros:
- Easy to use.
- 10 minutes operation.
- Recommended by dentists.
- Wide variety of product compatibility.
- Removes plaque & tartar.
Cons:
- Not efficient in removing coffee stains.
Who Should Buy This?
Compatible with a wide variety of oral appliances and always doing an efficient job, the M3 Naturals cleaning tablets are great for people who want a quality product that could also be labeled as a best-seller or a customer favorite.
Fresh Guard
Specs:
- Contents: 24 packets of crystals
- Good for: retainers, dental guards, removable braces
Bargain buy
Let’s try to add something different to the list. We move along from tablets to packets of crystal that promise to deliver the same efficiency as tablets would and to remove slightly less than 100 percent of the odor-causing bacteria that you could possibly find on a mouthpiece. The Fresh Guard soluble crystals are designed to be compatible with products such as dental guards, retainers, or removable braces.
We have chosen to add this product to our list not just because of its efficiency and ease of use, but also because you sometimes want to buy cheaper and less product quantities to test its efficiency first, instead of buying a huge pack of tablets that last four months and that you don’t even like. The cheapest Fresh Guard pack will provide you with 24 packets of crystal that should last you about a month.
Pros:
- Good for testing.
- Easy to use.
- Doesn’t damage oral appliances.
- Good price.
- Multiple package options available.
Cons:
- Complaints about chlorine smell.
Who Should Buy This?
The Fresh Guard package with 24 packets of soluble crystals is designed for people who want to spend less money on such a product and test its efficiency before buying larger quantities. If you’ve just started using oral appliances and need cleaners, this is a good place to start experimenting.
Retainer Brite
Specs:
- Contents: 192 tablets
- Good for: retainers, mouthguards, bruxism oral appliances
Amazon’s choice
Retainer Brite is a product that deserves to be pushed forwards, especially since they’ve improved their formula so that it can comply with newer FDA regulations, making these products more eco-friendly. This is another pack of soluble tablets that can be used with different types of retainers, mouthguards, bruxism oral appliances, and other similar products.
This is a set of two packages that contain a total of 192 tablets, which should basically be enough to last you six months. It is a product that can clean plaque buildup and also prevent it in the future, but will also get rid of odors and leave your dental appliance clean and fresh. It is made with gentle cleaning agents and a balanced pH level that doesn’t have any harsh reactions on plastic appliances.
Pros:
- FDA-compliant formula.
- Eco-friendly.
- Gentle with plastic appliances.
- Removes plaque and tartar.
Cons:
- Complaints about the new formula.
Who Should Buy This?
Considered to be one of the best-selling products in its category, the Retainer Brite product is designed to serve people that use a wide variety of oral applications, but also to those who would be happy with the idea of turning to a product with a more eco-friendly formula.
Fancymay
Specs:
- Contents: 120 tablets
- Good for: mouthguards, wire appliances, nightguards, removable bridges
Editor’s choice
Retainer Cleaner is a product by Fancymay that’s completely underrated. It has received a lot of positive feedback for the people who bought and used it. The tablets are based on a similar effervescent concept, which allows you to dissolve the tablets in warm water and then dip your oral appliance in the blue bubble soak, leaving it there in 15 minutes.
The product is perfectly compatible with all sorts of different oral appliances, ranging from nightguards to removable bridges, and even ire appliances and retainers. The tablets are manufactured in an FDA-approved factory and are made with quality ingredients that won’t warp or destroy your dental appliances, nor will they leave a foul smell/taste on it. Aside from that, it also has a mint flavor that will leave your mouth feeling refreshed and eliminating all unwanted odors.
Pros:
- FDA-approved factory.
- Not irritating.
- Made with natural mint essence.
- Individually-wrapped tablets.
Cons:
- Complaints about after-smell.
Who Should Buy This?
The FancyMay Retainer Cleaner is an efficient solution for people who are looking to try something else rather than the conventional best-selling products in the category. If you’ve tried some of the other most popular products and were not satisfied with the results, this should be the next item on your list.
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Bottom Line
Cleaning your mouthguard is just as important as cleaning your teeth. Whether you plan on using a special mouthguard cleaner or would rather make up your own solution to dissolve plaque and destroy bacteria, you need to pay close attention to dental hygiene, a process that also includes daily cleaning your mouthguard.
But if you do decide to use a mouthguard cleaner, there are some pretty solid products out there that can deliver a quality and efficient cleaning experience, just like the five examples that we’ve shown you above. Whenever you’re looking to buy a mouthguard cleaner, always make sure that you find one that can remove a high percentage or oral0residing bacteria, and that is made with ingredients that won’t cause damage to different types of oral appliances (especially those made from plastic).