Know the Simple Rules for Long-Term Care of Dental Implants

You have got your dental implants in Chino and you want them to last longer. So, how to do it? Just do not ‘fit and forget’! Yes, the only way to ensure the long life of your implants is to look after them well and take proper care of the bone they are fitted to. After undergoing an implant therapy, you should follow the appropriate standard of preventive dental care including professional cleaning, daily hygiene advice, and regular evaluation of the bone level. Otherwise, the bone levels around your implants may go low with time and you may end up developing irreversible conditions like ‘peri-implantitis’. According to recent research findings, almost 50%-90% of implant patients get gum inflammation while 15%-43% of them suffer from serious bone loss.

To avoid such complications, you must know how to take the best long-term care of your dental implants. Here is the guide for you.

1. A Robust Dental Cleaning Regime

It all starts with a stringent daily oral cleaning routine, which is vital for keeping the implants as well as the surrounding tissues healthy and strong. Brush your teeth twice a day in order to keep ‘plaque’ or ‘biofilm’ away from the implant crowns. Regular flossing is also imperative for achieving a meticulous standard of plaque control in between teeth. However, make sure that you use only implant-specific toothpaste (low abrasive) and floss (unwaxed) to prevent the erosion of your enamels and implants. You can even use a water flosser (oral irrigator device) to remove food residue from hard to reach teeth surfaces.

2. Continuous Self-Monitoring of Implants

When it comes to maintaining dental implants the right way, frequent visual inspection become as important as following good oral hygiene. Keep monitoring the health of your implants and the surrounding environment while cleaning them daily. If you experience unusual signs like swelling, redness, soreness, tenderness, irritation, inflammation, bleeding, fluid discharge, etc., report to your dentist right away. An early detection of infection can help in avoiding the risk of continued bone loss, thereby averting the failure of the implants.

3. Balanced Diet and Healthy Lifestyle

Your food and lifestyle habits have significant impact on the outcome of your dental implant treatment in the long run. A well-balanced diet is essential for fast healing and better maintenance of the implants. Too much smoking and drinking also contribute to poor oral health, thereby slowing down the process of healing and affecting the longevity of the implants. Moreover, it has been found that people with vitamin D deficiency, anemia, cardiovascular problems, uncontrolled diabetes, etc. have compromised dental implant integrity and stability. Certain other factors, such as excessive biting forces, clenching, accidental injury, and drug abuse can make implants likely to fail over time. Hence, embracing healthy lifestyle choices is a must for people having implants.

4. Regular Check-Ups with a Specialist

Schedule your check-up appointments with a dental specialist or hygienist every 3 or 6 months to ensure that you are taking proper care of your implants at home. He or she will not only take special precautions for a detailed professional cleaning of your implants but also monitor the health of the adjacent gum and tissues to identify potential problems in them. Apart from routine dental examinations, annual or biannual X-rays are also necessary to keep a close watch on bone loss around the implants. Thus, you can go for any corrective treatment that may be necessary and enjoy a trouble-free future.

Having dental implants in Chino ensures that it comes with the best chance of long-term success. But the right approach and the quality of your care matter too. So, follow the aforementioned rules and keep smiling!