Approximately 5 years is the average lifespan of a Denture. I’ve seen many cases where patients come in with a set that is 20,30 or even 50 years old and the Dentures aren’t in bad shape at first glance. But when you start to take a look at the effect on the Tissues and structure of the oral cavity, there is often irreparable damage to the TMJ and often flabby, irritated tissues that can require surgical intervention to correct.

If everything is going well, once a year for a quick checkup is recommended (and its free!)

They can have some effect on natural teeth, but wont do anything positive to your dentures unfortunately.
Having your dentures professionally cleaned and polished can help with Tobacco, Tartar and staining from Medications.

I like foaming antibacterial hand-soap, as it is non-abrasive and everyone needs some anyways. Just don’t get anything too fragrant, unless you want your breathe to smell like potpourri!

The GOOD news is I am not a Dentist, so you don’t need to be scared of me.
But if I was I’d suggest the first thing you do is tell the Dentist that you are afraid, believe me its not the first time they’ve heard it! They can offer you different things to help combat the anxiety of Dental appointments.

If your teeth have met the effective end of their usefulness, and the only option is to have Immediate Dentures made (I always advocate keeping healthy teeth as long as you possibly can), I would book a consultation with me and we can go over the options and logistics of planning the treatment with you.