How To Take Care Of Your Dental Implants

Even though dental care is constantly improving, millions of people in the US suffer from tooth decay, gum disease and tooth loss. Dental implants offer an even easier and more effective alternative than any that have come before. Just like dentures or bridges, they require some special care after you get them put in.

Brushing And Flossing
First and foremost, take care of your dental implants the same way you'd take care of your teeth - by brushing and flossing well and regularly. In fact, brush a little bit more. And if you're lazy about flossing, now's the time to start getting serious about it. It's especially important when you've got implanted teeth to take extra special care of.

Extra Special Brushing
Your dentist may also give you a specialized tool for cleaning your dental implants. This may be a miniature toothbrush or one that has a bent handle. This tool is for brushing behind the abutments. This is an area that's tough to reach with a regular toothbrush, although a smaller one might do the trick. If your dentist doesn't recommend a special tool like this for you, they'll at least give you a recommendation on which brand and type of toothbrush to use.

Regular Follow-Up Appointments
Make sure that you visit the dentist every three months so that they can see how the new teeth are doing. Eventually, you'll get back into a schedule of six month visits, but for now you need more. They'll be checking to make sure there aren't any problems developing; catching them early is the key to prevention. Once they tell you that the implantation is going fine and you're in the clear, you can stop going to much.

Foods To Avoid
In general, you can eat anything with these just as you would with regular teeth. However, there are some things that you should avoid as much as possible. These foods include those that are hard and those that are sticky. For example, don't bite ice cubes with them. Watch out for foods like peanut butter that can get stuck around the abutments. You may not have to completely avoid foods that are sticky and hard, but you should keep in mind that you're running the risk of cracking them or getting food stuck in the dental implants.

Use Mouthwash
You should use a specialized mouthwash that's recommended by your dentist. Most dentists recommend using chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash because it has germicidal properties that cut down on bacteria inside your mouth. It tastes especially nasty, but you should only have to use it for a month or so after your procedure.

Dental implants have a 97% success rate for those who get them put in. The key to this success is taking care of them properly, especially during the critical time after the procedure when they're healing and growing roots. Your dentist will give you instruction on proper care and cleaning, so make sure that you follow them perfectly. Then, you'll never have anything to worry about!