Dental implants look and feel like natural teeth, that help regains the normal function of your mouth. It provides an excellent solution for tooth loss due to tooth decay, injury or gum disease. Dental implants should be taken care of, properly, to ensure their longevity and maintain their appearance. Skipping the aftercare may result in inflammation, discomfort, pain, bone loss and diseases of peri-implantitis. A healthy and long-lasting dental implant will no longer be a distant reality, with the tips mentioned below.
A hard-bristled toothbrush can damage your dental implants, they easily scratch the surface of the implants and cause irreversible cracks. Thus, it is important to use soft-bristled toothbrushes after getting dental implants. Nylon brushes are a good choice because they have pliable and gentle bristles that won’t harm your implants.
Some kinds of toothpaste are abrasive, and any form of abrasion can hurt your implants. Choose a low-abrasive toothpaste after getting dental implants. Normal toothpaste is highly abrasive to remove plaque and stains, so change your normal toothpaste and start using a toothpaste that won’t damage your dental implant.
Flossing daily is important for oral hygiene, it will remove any food particle that gets stuck in between the teeth and cannot be removed by brushing alone. But, after getting dental implants it is more important than before as plaque builds up easily around implants. Also, make sure you use implant-friendly floss.
It is always important to brush twice daily and you should continue this after getting dental implants. If you wish to protect your implants for a long time, use non-abrasive products. A soft-bristled toothbrush, non-abrasive and sensitive toothpaste, non-alcoholic mouthwash and implant-specific floss are all must-haves. Consult the best dentists to explore more implant-friendly products.
Hard food items can cause damage or break your implants, hence, they should be avoided. Sticky foods can stick around your implant and cause plaque buildup. Try to avoid ice, hard candies, caramel, sweets, steak, etc. Hot food items such as tea, coffee and soups should also be avoided as they can distort the shape of your dental implant.
Alcohol is high in sugar and promotes tooth decay in normal teeth, and is also problematic for dental implants. It speeds up the accumulation of plaque and hinders healing after dental implant surgery. Try to avoid alcohol consumption for six months post-surgery.
Smoking is bad for your overall health and it is intensely harmful to your oral health. Choosing to smoke puts you at a high risk of various diseases including cancer and lung disorders. Smoking slows down the healing process post-dental implant surgery. It also weakens and inflames the gums around the implant causing severe pain and discomfort. Smoking will also stain the new dental implants in no time. So, it is better to quit smoking once and for all.
MDS, CONSERVATIVE DENTISTRY AND ENDODONTICS