Ongoing Care For Your Dental Implants

Your new dental implant should provide you with a fantastic replacement tooth. There are a few minor challenges ahead though….

The use of dental implants to replace missing teeth is becoming more popular each year. They offer an excellent solution due to the nature of the artificial root which is placed into the jaw bone and is then allowed to bond with it to give the support the crown will need. Compare this to dentures which largely sit on the gums and it isn’t hard to see why implants offer a stronger and more stable solution to this problem.

The success rate of teeth implant placements is also very high and as long as you have your implant placed by an experienced and qualified dentist, which should always be the case in the UK, though not necessarily if you opt to have them placed abroad, you might expect twenty or more years of a strong and effective replacement tooth.

Patients of SG Dental who have this treatment should always be aware that even a successful implant can fail or become damaged if care is not taken. Thankfully, problems are largely easy to avoid and generally no more difficult than looking after your natural teeth. In today’s blog, we take a look at some potential issues and how you can avoid them.

Care during osseointegration – the jawbone bonding period

The first three months of a dental implant’s life are crucial. This is a time when they are most vulnerable to problems. Thankfully, most people accept the advice of their experienced implant dentist and take extra care during this period.

Smoking should be a definite ‘no no’ during this period and really should be afterwards too as we will see shortly. Patients should also take care to keep the area of the procedure clean, using the methods recommended by the dentist as you won’t be able to brush them initially. You will also need to be careful about what you eat, with liquid and softer foods consumed for a short while. Your dentist will provide immediate aftercare advice and you should follow this carefully.

Maintaining good oral care habits

Once your dental implant is fully bonded with the jaw bone and the osseointegration period complete, you will have a great replacement tooth. While this has been successful, you still need to take good care of it. A dental implant won’t decay of course as it is made from artificial materials, but there are still risks. We mentioned smoking in the last section and if you do smoke after this period has passed, your implant may well fail as smoking is a major factor in gum disease. You should make sure that you continue to brush and floss around the implant as well to avoid gum disease (more on that in a moment). Finally, make sure that you have appointments booked to see the local dentist and hygienist at our Burton dental practice on a regular six monthly basis so that the implant can be monitored along with the rest of your teeth.

Periodontitis and peri-implantitis

The most likely reason that an implant will fail is due to poor oral health and most specifically periodontitis and peri-implantitis. Both of these can come about through neglect.

Periodontitis is an advanced form of gum disease. Unlike gingivitis, which largely affects the gums alone, periodontitis occurs when infections reach the tooth root and most importantly for dental implants, the bone in which the implant is placed.  When the infection attacks the bone it can cause it to weaken and become less dense. When this happens, there is a real risk that the implant may work its way loose and if this happens, there is a real danger that the implant will fall out.

Peri-implantitis is a problem specific to teeth implants and is similar to periodontitis except that it also attacks the surrounding soft tissues and ligaments which help to keep the implant stable.

Avoiding this is usually relatively simple, though some people, such as diabetics, may be more prone to this problem due to a weaker immune system. Along with regular visits to the hygienist to have a scale and polish, make sure that you brush around the implant, taking special care to angle the bristles so that any debris and bacteria is removed from the gum line as this is essential to keep the gums healthy. Floss also plays a big part too and if you don’t already floss between your teeth, you should do so. If you find this difficult, please speak to the hygienist who will be able to demonstrate how to do this effectively.

Sports (and other) injuries

Life is not risk free and although we try to avoid accidents, they usually happen when we don’t expect them to. In general, we can only take precautions to avoid accidents so far and a fall or collision could damage an implant if there is impact in the mouth region.

Some injuries and accidents are more likely though and this is especially the case if you play certain sports such as football, rugby or potentially even cricket. If you play these regularly, you should discuss this with your dentist before you have an implant placement. While a mouthguard may help to protect an implant, you may wish to consider a removable alternative such as dentures until such a time that you stop playing your preferred sport.

Despite these potential issues, which are avoidable in the main anyway, dental implants do offer patients an excellent solution for replacing any missing teeth that they may have. If you would like to find out if you would be a suitable candidate for them, why not arrange to have an initial consultation with the implant dentist at our local Burton practice? You can do this by calling SG Dental and Implant Centre today on 01283 845345.