How to Properly Maintain Your Dental Implants

Dental implants can make you feel more confident about your smile, and they keep bone tissues in your jaw healthy. Implants are one of the popular ways to replace missing teeth and provide more benefits than alternatives like dentures and implants.

Implants serve as bases for artificial teeth that are attached to them, like crowns, dentures, or bridges. These restorations replace teeth roots and help to transfer forces into the jawbone, stimulating tissues there just like real teeth roots do. Getting dental implants can take up to six months to complete the procedure, but implants are designed to last a lifetime when properly cared for.

Everything you should know about keeping your implants in excellent condition

Some of the things people who choose implants to replace lost teeth can do to get the most out of their restorations include:

1. Practice good oral hygiene

Implants are often made out of titanium, so bacteria and acids in the mouth have little direct effect. However, the gum and bone tissues around implants are not invulnerable to these things, so people with implants should make good oral hygiene a priority.

A soft-bristled toothbrush is ideal for cleaning the areas around an implant to remove food particles and plaque. Many dentists recommend brushing at least twice daily.

2. Avoid abrasive oral hygiene products

People who opt for implants should avoid oral hygiene products with intense flavors or abrasive ingredients, especially right after implant placement, since the area worked on will be sore. Stick to gentle products made with gentle ingredients until the implants are completely fused with bone tissues in the jaw.

3. Flossing daily

Flossing helps to keep the tight spaces between implants and teeth clear of good particles and plaque. Plaque accumulating around an implant can lead to issues like an infection around the implant or periodontal disease, which destroys bone tissues in the jaw. A water flosser works almost as well as conventional floss when it comes to keeping interdental spaces clean.

4. Avoid hard, chewy, or sticky foods

It takes up to six months for dental implants to fuse with bone tissues in the jaw, so people with implants should avoid hard, sticky, or chewy foods while their implants become one with their jaw. Liquid and soft foods are ideal following the placement of implants, and patients should get cleared by a dentist before returning to their normal diet.

People whose implants have long healed after their placement should still be cautious with the foods they consume. Foods that put a lot of strain on teeth, like ice or hard candies, are just as bad for implants.

5. Avoid bad habits

Habits like tobacco or alcohol use can slow down recovery after getting implants, and they increase a person’s risk of developing gum disease. These habits should be avoided in the weeks before and after implant surgery to reduce the risk of complications.