You should rinse your mouthguard after every single use and give it a thorough cleaning at least once a week, with a deeper soak once a month. That baseline applies whether you wear a sports mouthguard, a night guard for grinding, or a retainer-style appliance. The specifics depend on how often you wear it and what you’re cleaning it with.
After Every Use: Rinse Right Away
The moment you take your mouthguard out, rinse it under lukewarm water. This removes saliva, food particles, and the initial layer of bacteria before they have a chance to settle in. Cool or lukewarm water is important here. Hot water can warp the plastic and ruin the fit, especially on custom-fitted guards.
If you have a soft-bristled toothbrush you keep just for this purpose, a gentle scrub during the rinse helps clear buildup from grooves and edges. Skip your regular toothpaste, though. Even mild toothpastes can be abrasive enough to scratch the surface of a mouthguard, and those tiny scratches create perfect hiding spots for bacteria. A small amount of mild dish soap or a non-abrasive cleaner works better if you want something beyond water.
Weekly Cleaning With a Soak
A quick rinse handles surface debris, but it won’t reach the bacteria embedding themselves into the material over days of use. Once a week, soak your mouthguard using one of these methods:
- Diluted mouthwash: Add a capful of alcohol-free mouthwash to a glass of water, enough to fully submerge the guard. Soak for about 30 minutes.
- Vinegar soak: Place the mouthguard in a glass and cover it with distilled white vinegar. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
- Denture cleaning tablets: Drop a tablet into water, submerge the guard, and remove it after 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t leave it in longer than the package recommends, because extended soaking in chemical cleaners can degrade the material over time.
Any of these options will handle the weekly job. The key is consistency rather than which method you pick.
Monthly Deep Clean
At least once a month, give your mouthguard a more thorough treatment. The most effective home method uses a two-step process: soak the guard in distilled white vinegar for 30 minutes, rinse it off, then soak it again in hydrogen peroxide for another 30 minutes. The vinegar breaks down mineral deposits and kills certain bacteria, while the hydrogen peroxide tackles a different range of microorganisms. Rinse well after both soaks.
This is especially important for night guards, which spend six to eight hours in your mouth every night and accumulate buildup faster than a sports mouthguard worn a few times a week.
What Grows on a Dirty Mouthguard
Researchers who swabbed children’s sports mouthguards found roughly 17 types of potentially harmful bacteria living on the guards and inside their storage cases. Some of these bacteria are linked to gum disease, tooth decay, oral infections, and even respiratory infections if inhaled. The warm, moist environment inside a sealed case is ideal for bacterial growth, which is why how you store your guard matters almost as much as how you clean it.
A dirty mouthguard can also contribute to oral ulcers and infections, particularly if the inside of your mouth is already irritated from sports contact or nighttime grinding. You’re essentially pressing a colony of bacteria directly against vulnerable tissue for hours at a time.
Drying and Storage Between Uses
After cleaning, let your mouthguard air dry on a clean surface in a well-ventilated area for at least 15 to 30 minutes, or until it’s completely dry. Putting a damp mouthguard straight into a closed case creates exactly the warm, moist conditions bacteria love.
Once dry, store it in a ventilated case. Look for cases with small holes or perforations that allow airflow. Clean the case itself regularly too, since that same study on children’s mouthguards found bacteria thriving in cases as well as on the guards. A quick wash with soap and water, followed by thorough drying, keeps the case from recontaminating a freshly cleaned guard.
What to Avoid
A few common cleaning habits will actually damage your mouthguard faster than neglect:
- Hot or boiling water: Heat warps thermoplastic materials, changing the fit of your guard permanently.
- Regular toothpaste: The abrasive particles that scrub plaque off teeth will scratch softer mouthguard material, creating rough surfaces where bacteria accumulate more easily.
- Extended chemical soaks: Leaving a guard in denture cleaner or mouthwash overnight can break down the material. Stick to the recommended timeframes.
When to Replace Your Mouthguard
Even with perfect cleaning habits, mouthguards don’t last forever. Custom-made guards can last several years with proper care, though some people who grind heavily may wear through them sooner. Store-bought guards are less durable and typically need replacing a few times a year. Children and teens may need new guards even more frequently as their mouths grow and their bite changes.
Bring your mouthguard to dental checkups so your dentist can inspect it for cracks, thinning, or other signs of wear. A cracked guard not only protects your teeth less effectively but also harbors bacteria in places you can’t clean. If it no longer fits snugly, feels rough or brittle, or has a persistent smell even after deep cleaning, it’s time for a new one.