Caring For Your New Dental Implant

Aftercare to help keep your implant in good condition for many years.

Having a dental implant placed is a significant step to improving your smile and mouth function if you have had a tooth missing. Whilst some opt for a partial denture, gum irritation and other problems can sometimes occur which is why implants are now considered to be the superior solution for replacing lost teeth in most cases.

Once a dental implant has been placed successfully and a period of time has passed to allow it to fuse strongly with the bone in the jaw, the patient typically forgets that the implant is there and simply gets on with life as before.

Cautions

Whilst the above statement is, to a large degree true, dental implants cannot be entirely forgotten as, like natural teeth, they need specific aftercare to prevent problems that can threaten their survival.

Even though the implant itself is made from a high grade titanium and the crown attached is made from porcelain or ceramic, this does not mean that problems will never occur. Whilst the implant itself and the crown are effectively immune from problems, the same can’t be said about the surrounding tissues and bone that holds the implant in its place and good aftercare is still extremely important.

Cleaning

Even though the crown cannot decay, it is still essential to clean the tooth. On a basic level, although porcelain does not stain easily, it can still stain and needs to be brushed carefully to eliminate this problem. More importantly though, gentle brushing around the tooth as well as on the actual tooth itself will go a long way to preventing gum disease in the area of the implant. Our implant dentist will advise exactly how to do this to best effect and without causing gum erosion.

Because of the difficulty in successfully brushing between the teeth, flossing or the use of a special interdental brush is recommended by the dentist at the our implant centre in Derby to ensure that any food particles or bacteria are removed effectively.

Failure to remove food particles can lead to a progressive build-up of bacteria and the onset of gum disease. When this happens, the bone that holds the dental implant in place comes under attack, progressively weakens and becomes less dense.

The effect of this attack on the bone is that it weakens it’s ‘grip’ on the implant itself and may cause the dental implant to become loose and possible even fail altogether.

Regular routine

A well-maintained dental implant can last the patient for twenty years or more and controlling the risk of gum disease is a relatively straightforward task that can easily be fitted into your daily oral health regime.

In addition to your home oral health regime, regular visits should be paid to our Derby Implant Centre so that we can monitor the health of the implant and also the gums surrounding it. Our hygienist will provide a thorough clean and check for any issues which may threaten the longevity of your implant.

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