Receiving dental implants represents a significant achievement for your oral health. These remarkable prosthetic appliances require a considerable investment of effort and resources on the part of the patient, so it only makes sense that you’ll want to keep your newly completed smile in great shape for as long as possible. Here’s a brief guide to a few of the best ways to keep your dental implants happy and healthy for life.
Your First Line of Defense Is Excellent Oral Hygiene
Whether you have a mouthful of healthy natural teeth or beautifully lifelike dental implants, the most important thing for keeping your smile in excellent shape is to maintain excellent oral hygiene habits. It’s best to brush at least twice and floss at least once a day while using antibacterial mouthwash often. This will make sure that your oral environment is hostile to any harmful bacterial invaders that want to infect your gums and jawbones so they can destroy your real and artificial teeth.
Your Dentist Provides the Artillery for Your War on Gum Disease
Oral infections such as gum disease can lead to implant failure, and it’s quite likely that you will not notice the early signs of these issues before they start causing considerable damage. Even if you have replaced all your natural teeth with implants, it’s still important to see your dentist regularly for routine checkups so they can give your mouth a deep cleaning, address problems in their early stages, and recommend better oral hygiene methods for when you are at home so your implants can stay healthy.
Don’t Sabotage Your Implants with Bad Habits
Certain habits are destructive to your oral health and can lead to implant failure. A few activities to skip include:
- Tobacco use
- Excessive drinking
- Using your teeth to open packages or bottles
- Chewing on inedible objects like pens, pencils, toothpicks, and ice
- Not wearing an athletic mouthguard when playing sports, riding a bike, or engaging in similar physical activities
Knowing how to protect your dental implants is half the battle. By maintaining good oral health habits and protecting your smile from injury, you can keep your new teeth in excellent shape for a lifetime.
About the Author
Dr. Jennifer Pham earned her dental degree at Temple University School of Dentistry and attended rotations at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, the Episcopal Hospital, and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She is a proud member of the American Dental Association and the Academy of General Dentistry. Her office in Leesburg offers general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as dental implant services. To learn more about protecting your implants, contact her office online or dial (703) 666-3867.