Whenever you make an investment, it’s natural to want to maintain that investment to the best of your ability. Whether you’re patching the roof on your house or taking your car in for routine maintenance, you’re extending the life of these things by taking proactive steps to care for them. The same goes for dental implants in Piedmont. Implants are a fantastic way to replace missing teeth because they look and feel more like your real teeth than any other option. But they still require basic maintenance to increase their chance of success and help them last as long as possible. Keep reading below to learn the 4 best things you can do to keep your implants in great shape!
Establish Good Hygiene Habits
Although your implants themselves can’t get cavities like natural teeth, they still rely on the surrounding gums and underlying bone to support them. If these tissues aren’t clean and healthy, a specific type of gum disease can develop around an implant and cause it to fail over time.
Use the Right Products
It’s helpful to use the right tools and products to help you keep your implant clean. Here are some examples:
- An electric toothbrush – Electric toothbrushes do an excellent job removing plaque. They provide anywhere from 6,000-30,000 brush strokes per minute, which is much more than you can do with a manual.
- An oral irrigator – These tools provide a flushing action that’s great for removing plaque from the nooks and crannies around implants.
- Waxed or woven floss – Rather than smooth floss designed for tight teeth, waxed or woven floss has texture that helps it grabs onto (and remove) a lot more plaque.
- Antiseptic mouthwash – An antiseptic mouthwash kills the bacteria that cause gum problems. It’s a great addition (not substitute) to brushing and flossing.
Also, it’s a good idea to ask your dentist or hygienist for a demonstration on how to floss under your implant, as it’s a different technique than you use around natural teeth.
Stop Smoking
The success rate of dental implants in non-smokers is around 98%.
However, it’s only 85% in smokers, which is a significant difference. It’s well worth it to give yourself the best chance at success, so talk to your doctor about help with smoking cessation.
Get Regular Checkups
It’s crucial to see a dentist for regular checkups so they can monitor the health of your dental implants. This way, any potential problems can be caught and treated early to prevent them from becoming larger problems later on.
Dental implants are the next best thing to your own teeth, and a worthwhile investment that will last decades (or even a lifetime) with the right maintenance. These tips will help you get many years of great oral health from your implants!
About the Author
With over 3 decades of experience in dentistry, Dr. Darryl Halbert knows that his patients get the best treatment results when they’re taught how to maintain their dental work. If you’d like to know more about how to care for your dental implant, he can be contacted through his website or at (864) 962-6671.