How to Take Care of Dental Implants

Getting a dental implant is surgery and like any surgery it requires aftercare. There are also things that you shouldn’t do in order to avoid pain and damage to the implant, like drinking anything cold.  It cannot decay like your natural teeth but the gum and supporting bone must be well maintained.

Cleaning your dental implant is crucial for it’s healthy and long lifespan.

It is almost the same as with your natural teeth. If bacteria is stuck around the dental implant and lead to the formation of plaque, that could cause infection and you should definitely keep this in mind.

What to do the first days after Implant placement

There are some symptoms like oozing, swelling, bleeding, and pain that you will probably see on the first day. This only means that your body is healing. What you need to do to help the process is to have some rest and apply ice if needed. After the first day, you might notice bruising or discoloration around the surgical area but it’s nothing to worry about. What you can do is gently apply heat to the area to decrease it.

When a few days go by you can continue your mouth care with the tools that we’re going to suggest

Here are some hygiene and home-care tips for after getting a tooth implant:

The right toothbrush

Patients with a tooth implant are usually suggested to use a soft bristle brush. Electric brushes disrupt biofilm better than manual ones. No matter which you are more comfortable using, you should brush gently for two minutes.

Floss

It could be overwhelming to choose the most suitable one for you as there are so many types of floss out there. Especially for implants dentists suggest that you use unwaxed tape or floss. You should always make sure that the surrounding tissue is well protected.

Stimulators

Their job is to encourage healthy gum tissue. You can use a rubber-tipped stimulator, as gentle as possible, on the gums.

Water Flossers

Water flossers help with reducing plaque. You can find one with non-metal tip and use it once or twice a day. Supplement it with a non-alcoholic antimicrobial rinse of your choice.

Professional Dental Implant Cleaning

Besides all of the home-care periodically you should get your dental implant cleaned by a professional. They can more thoroughly clean the surrounding tissue and your natural teeth. Anyways, it’s important that the overall condition of the implant is checked by your dentist.

How often should you get your dental implants cleaned by a dentist?

At the first month after getting an implant you’ll be visiting your dentist several times. After the period of adaptation, an implant could be treated as a regular tooth, which means visiting the dentist once or twice a year.

Conclusion

Before getting a dental implant to be prepared by buying all of the supplies that you will need for your at-home aftercare. Get some gauze pads, ice packs, and soft foods. After your surgery what you need most is a good rest. The way you care for your implant is important for its lifespan. Once it adapts to your body you’ll feel it like one of your natural teeth.

If you still have any concerns about getting a dental implant or taking care of it you can always contact our office. Our team of professionals here at Gallegos Family Dentistry will be glad to help.