How to Ensure Success with Your Dental Implant
Dental implants are designed to last a lifetime with proper care. The foods you eat, your oral hygiene routine, and the products you use are all some of the factors that can affect the success of your implant. Review our guide for proper implant care that can help guarantee a smooth recovery and ensure a long-lasting tooth replacement solution.
Recovering From Surgery
Within the first few days after your surgery, Dr. Bauer suggests these tips to help you get through recovery:
- Don’t eat hard foods that can poke or irritate the implant area. It’s best to stick to a liquid or soft food diet within the first couple of days.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco because these are blood thinners and can impede your healing process.
- Rinse out your mouth regularly with warm, salt water. This can help reduce inflammation around your implant and diminish pain.
- Try not to use a straw or spit because these can put pressure on your surgical site and prevent it from healing properly.
Think About Your Long-Term Health
Whether you’ve replaced an entire arch with dental implants or you retain most of your natural teeth and only need one implant, taking care of your oral health is always important. Follow these tips to ensure you maintain good oral health for both your natural teeth and implants.
Follow a Good Oral Hygiene Routine
Taking care of your smile is important in maintaining good health. Everyone should brush their teeth twice a day, floss between teeth at least once a day, and complete each hygiene routine with a 30-second rinse with mouthwash.
Many patients don’t know that they can affect their dental implant if they don’t properly clean their teeth and gums. Although your actual implant post can’t get a disease or decay like a natural tooth root, the gum tissue around the implant can be infected and affect its success.
It’s important to remove infection-causing bacteria and food particles from below your gumline and around your implant to help keep your mouth healthy. If you don’t properly clean the area, you may get peri-implantitis, which is a condition that causes bone loss which can ultimately lead to implant failure.
Use the Right Products for Your Implants
During your daily hygiene regimen, some products may be better for your dental implants than others. The best dental products to use to ensure beauty for your smile include:
- A soft-bristled toothbrush that won’t scratch your restoration
- Toothpaste that doesn’t contain any harsh ingredients
- Nylon coated floss or floss made specifically for implants
- A mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol
Come Back to Our Office Twice a Year
Another important part of your dental implant recovery and overall oral health is that you regularly return to our Hastings or Doniphan dental offices for your check-ups and professional teeth cleaning. These appointments should be scheduled at least two times a year no matter what.
If you experience any issues with your implant or have sudden discomfort, don’t hesitate to call right away so Dr. Bauer or Dr. Neuhaus can check it out and perform a treatment if necessary.