Straight Teeth in Less Time
3 Smart Tips for Maintaining Dental Implants
Lois Murray
If you have invested in dental implants, your oral health and appearance are obviously very important. Many people believe that implants require less maintenance than their natural teeth, but adequate care is necessary in order to protect your investment. Here are some smart tips that can keep your implants in the best condition possible:
Keep them clean
Just as you would brush your natural teeth twice daily, you need to adhere to the same schedule when it comes to your implants. Flossing once daily is also important, since it removes food from the hard-to-reach areas of your implants. By failing to clean your dental implants properly, you could possibly damage your implants. Inadequate cleaning of the gum tissue surrounding the implants and your natural teeth could result in infection that could possibly affect the bone. Bone deterioration due to infection could negatively affect your implants, making additional procedures necessary.
Report problems immediately
Properly positioned dental implants shouldn't pose a problem in most cases. However, there is always the chance that you could encounter complications, such as excessive pain, sinus issues or any number of other minor issues. Regardless of the problems that you might encounter, you need to notify your dentist as soon as possible. In most cases, your dentist can easily fix the problem and prevent any further complications, if reported early.
Be careful with hard foods
Just as natural teeth can become broken or damaged when eating hard foods like hard candy, popcorn and certain bread, so can dental implants. If foods in this category are your favorite, there is no reason to avoid them completely, but you should simply take precautions. Here are some precautions that you should take with "dangerous" foods:
- Chew gently when eating foods like popcorn or olives, as you could accidentally encounter an unpopped kernel or a pit that was missed during processing.
- When eating sandwiches on bread like Baguettes or Biscotti, taking smaller bites might prevent you from damaging your implants and your natural teeth.
- Avoid opening wrappers with your teeth, as some can cause more damage than you might realize.
Dental implants that aren't properly cared for could require repair or replacement in the future, and you could end up paying a lot more than you anticipated. However, it's relatively easy to maintain implants, and if cared for in the proper manner, they can last a lifetime. As long as you treat the implants like your natural teeth by practicing proper oral hygiene and seeing your dentist for routine cleanings and examinations, your investment should pay off as expected.
For more information or assistance, contact services like Richard L. Myers, DDS.
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I had braces when I was a kid. Back then, you had to wear those metal wires and rubber bands for what seemed like forever. When I saw that my child’s teeth were going to be crooked like mine, I was dreading the years of braces and orthodontist appointments and limited diets that I saw stretching ahead of us. I was pleased to find out that braces today are very different from braces when I was a kid. They don’t need to be worn for nearly as long, and they aren’t as intrusive, either. My daughter got braces that can barely be seen, and she can remove them when she eats, so she doesn’t have to give up her favorite foods. I was so impressed that I started a blog to talk about modern day tooth straightening techniques. Braces have come a long way.