Dental implants are now the standard of care for replacing missing teeth. This can be attributed to their ability to preserve overlying teeth and jawbone, while still giving you a great smile. Over 500,000 patients each year seek dental implant treatment. This is proof that this tooth replacement solution has grown in popularity. To prevent your dental implants from becoming damaged, it is necessary that you maintain proper oral hygiene. This will help prevent peri-implantitis which not only affects the hard and soft tissues around the dental implants but also leads to bone loss and subsequently, implant failure.
Cleaning Simple ImplantsBelow are some ways to clean your single implants:
Brushing your teeth every morning removes the morning breath and eliminates any bacteria that has built up overnight while brushing every night kills the bacteria that have built up during the day. Bacteria increases the risk of plaque build-up and decay. For this reason, dentists recommend brushing your teeth after every meal to remove any food debris and bacteria.
Abrasive agents are known to glaze porcelain materials and wear acrylic thus damaging the dental implants. Therefore, it is important to avoid the use of toothpaste with such agents like stain-removers and baking soda. You can ask your dentist for help with recommending toothpaste that is specifically made for dental implants.
Most times, people think that hard-bristled toothbrushes are much effective than soft-bristled toothbrushes in removing tartar which is false. They are equally effective but soft-bristled toothbrushes are gentle on your gums hence less likely to cause bleeding. Furthermore, electric brushes are recommended since they generate more brush strokes when cleaning your teeth than manual toothbrushes.
Cleaning All-On-Four ImplantsDue to the risk of food being trapped in between gums and the base of the bridge of the implants, additional precautions have to be taken to ensure that the risk of infection is minimized. Some are outlined below:
A sulcus brush is much more effective in cleaning the part of the implant that transitions into the soft tissue since it is smaller in size as compared to regular toothbrushes. It therefore eases the implant care routine.
It is advisable to use rubber-tip stimulators at least once daily to clean the gap between your gum line and the bridge of your dental implant. The rubber-tip stimulator comes attached to most water-flossers making it more convenient for use. One is advised to use the low or medium settings to avoid separating the implant from soft tissue.
If you want more advice on how to maintain your dental implants, do not hesitate to contact Guerrino Dentistry today! We have certified dentists who are ready and willing to answer any question you have concerning proper care for dental implants.
