Dental Implant Care
Clackamas, OR
 Those with missing teeth often face many problems, such as difficulty talking and chewing their food. Also, not only does missing teeth impact the appearance of your smile and make you more self conscious, but it also causes you to experience pain more often. While some patients choose to steer clear of treatments and attempt to adjust their lifestyle around their missing teeth, dentists have a completely different suggestion.
Dental implants are one of the most popular single or multiple tooth replacement treatments that includes the fixture of a titanium metal post in the jawbone to act as an artificial tooth root. Dental implants are a long-term solution that can last a lifetime with ample care.
Here are a few ways to care for your implants.
Use a Soft Toothbrush
You will probably need to change your toothbrush once you’ve gotten your implants. Invest in a good and gentle nylon toothbrush with soft bristles to brush your teeth. It is best to avoid toothbrushes with hard bristles to avoid scratching the surface of your implants.
Floss Daily
Flossing makes up a significant part of your dental hygiene routine. Whether you have implants or not, flossing helps get out the food remnants stuck between your teeth and gums. Since implants are a little more sensitive than your natural teeth, there is a special technique that teaches you how to floss around implants. So, make sure to ask your dentist about how you should floss after getting implants.
Rinse Your Mouth
Once you’re done flossing, you need to rinse your mouth to get rid of all leftover food particles and bacteria. The best way to have a completely clean mouth is to use an antimicrobial mouth rinse.
Use an Irrigator
An irrigator will make a great addition to your dental hygiene set along with your toothbrush and floss. A dental irrigator helps shower your teeth, implants, and crowns, which reduces the overall bacterial population in places your floss and brush can’t access.
Eat Carefully
Even though dental implants help restore the function of your teeth, such as your biting and chewing, you should be extra careful when eating hard or chewy foods. Chewy, sticky, and hard foods can get stuck in your teeth and implants, making it difficult to get them out. Make sure to stick with soft foods during the initial period of recovery after your implant placement.
Avoid Drinking and Smoking
Apart from negatively impacting your overall health, smoking and drinking affects your dental health too. It becomes particularly important to avoid these substances once you get dental implants. It takes at least six months for your implants to completely heal, and smoking and drinking have been linked to slowing down the process further.
Make it to Your Regular Dental Visits
It is important to remember that dental implants are a treatment to replace your lost teeth, not a cure for all of your dental hygiene issues. Make sure to visit your dentist at least twice a year even after getting implants to ensure that they remain in good shape.
Schedule an Appointment
Schedule a consultation with us at Clackamas Implant & Oral Surgery Center now. Call us at (503) 652-8080 to book an appointment.
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