Oral health is a continuous process that never really ends, and this goes not only for your original teeth, but for any kind of dental implant that’s used in your mouth for a variety of reasons. Just because you’ve had an implant placed in your mouth to help remedy some kind of issue, whether it’s tooth decay, infection or any other, doesn’t mean you’re simply done with it forever — proper care for the implant moving forward is vital.
At Trimble Dental, our dental implant services include not only providing these important procedures themselves, but also ensuring our patients are well-prepared for future care and upkeep of their implant and their entire mouth following any such procedure. In this two-part blog series, we’ll go over some basics on how to care for your implant, including some tips on how to manage dental appointments in the immediate aftermath of the procedure.
Think of the Implant as a Normal Tooth
As we alluded to above, there’s a strange phenomenon where some people who receive dental implants somehow believe they’re wildly different from normal teeth. They may assume that a dental implant is virtually indestructible, or that it doesn’t require the same level of care. In reality, though, dental implants are just like any other teeth — they need to be brushed, flossed and taken care of just like the rest of your pearly whites.
This is doubly important given that, in many cases, dental implants are placed where there was a tooth previously. If that tooth was not well-cared-for, there’s a good chance the implant could become infected as well. In general, you should be brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing once daily; if you’re unsure about how to properly floss around your dental implant, ask your dentist or hygienist for more information.
Keeping a Regular Checkup Schedule
Down related lines, it’s important to keep up with regular dental checkups even after you’ve had an implant placed. In fact, it may be even more important — teeth cleanings are vital for keeping your mouth healthy, and they allow your dentist to catch any potential problems early on.
At Trimble Dental, we recommend our patients come in for a cleaning and checkup every six months; during these appointments, we can give your mouth a good once-over and make sure everything is looking as it should. We’ll also be able to clean any hard-to-reach places around your dental implant that you may have missed while brushing at home.
In part two of our series, we’ll look at a couple additional important areas like hygiene and watching for signs of infection on your dental implant. For more on implant procedures, or to learn about any of our general dentist services, speak to our team at Trimble Dental today.