Bite splint

Question

Hello,
I am suffering from CF, am chronically colonized with Pseudomonas and have now recieved a bite splint from the dentist due to nightly teeth pressing. Even if the dentist knows about my CF, he said after I have asked him, that I would not have to pay attention to a special hygiene concerning the cleaning of the splint: washing with hot water would be enough. Now I am sceptic and I want to avoid that the splint becomes an origin of germs. I cannot put it into the vaporiser, as it stands only temperatures below 70°C. Which possibilities of cleaning are there and are my concerns justified?
Many thanks for your efforts,

Answer

Hello,
you are right, a bite splint should as well as the teeth be thoroughly cleaned in order to avoid a colonization with germs:
it would be best to clean it in the mornings, directly after it has been carried, for this a normal tooth brush or electric tooth brush and tooth paste is suitable.
A little tip: let the sink run full of water, then the splint is not going to hit the porcelaine hard if it slips out of your hands. Of course you can also use special cleaning tablets or agents, however it is not really necessary.
One should not clean with disinfectants, that would harm the synthetic material in the long runs. In general: the germs on the splint are of course the same ones, that are otherwise also in the mouth and you do not disinfect the mouth, either. If the splint tends to calcify (thus calculus is building up like on the teeth), then one can clean from time to time with diluted vinegar soultion.
One should not use a vaporiser, this would also harm the synthetic material.
Much more important is the storage in case of non-usage:
often the storage under water, therefore humid, is recommended. If one does not clean the box very very thoroughly, then it can come very fast to an accumulation of algae and germs. It is better to let the splint simply dry slowly on a piece of paper after cleaning. With this, your splint stays clean and mostly germ free.
Many greetings,
Michael Sies

02.04.2015