Caring For Your Dental Implants: A Guide
Dental implants are some of the most recommended treatment options for missing teeth. They are typically designed to last. However, how long your dental implants last depends on your maintenance and overall oral hygiene. Generally, cleaning and flossing are the main forms of oral hygiene. However, while your dental implants may be hardly visually distinguishable from your natural teeth, they require different care techniques, particularly when it comes to cleaning and flossing. Therefore, to get the most out of your dental implants, here are the top tips for looking after them the right way.
Immediate Aftercare Tips
Following your dental implant surgery or procedure, it's normal to experience some level of discomfort, swelling and bleeding. However, this doesn't generally last for long, and you should start feeling better after a few days. To manage the discomfort and swelling, you can use over-the-counter pain medications. You can also use ice packs over your cheek and close to the affected area. Doing this intermittently can help alleviate the swelling.
For bleeding, you can bite down gently on the sponges in your mouth. Remember to call your dentist if your bleeding persists because it generally shouldn't last too long.
Oral Hygiene
Oral hygiene procedures are crucial when it comes to taking care of your dental implants. Like your natural teeth, you need to brush and floss your dental implants daily. However, your choice of toothbrush matters a great deal when dealing with dental implants. Therefore, only use toothbrushes with soft bristles that are gentle on the implants. For the hard-to-reach areas, go for end tuft toothbrushes. Also, remember to be slow and gentle when brushing to avoid damaging the implants.
Flossing is also a vital aspect of oral hygiene, especially after a dental implant procedure. It's easy for plaque to accumulate around the implants if you don't floss daily. Therefore, remember to floss every day to prevent oral hygiene issues.
It's also helpful to avoid abrasive cleaning products, whether they're mouthwash or toothpaste. This is because they can easily increase discomfort. Usually, the ideal way to know whether a cleaning product is abrasive is to check the flavours. Avoid cleaning products with intense flavours such as mint. Instead, consider low-abrasive options like tartar-control toothpaste.
Foods And Drinks
Your choice of food will also determine the health of your dental implants. Generally, hard and sticky foods can damage your implants. Therefore, stay away from foods like apples, steak, hard sweets, carrots and caramel. Such foods may put too much pressure on your dental implants and cause damage.