Care Guide for Dental Implants

Dental implants are a fantastic achievement of modern restorative dentistry that can significantly improve the quality of life for people who are missing some or all their natural teeth. Please read our care guide for dental implants to ensure the longevity of your new dental restoration.

Care for dental implants includes daily oral hygiene at home, certain dietary restrictions, and regular visits to a dental office for professional care. Following the tips listed below will help you prolong the lifespan of your dental restoration and ensure your oral health.

Hygiene Routine with Dental Implants

Proper and thorough hygiene with dental implants is essential if you want your new appliance to serve you for as long as possible. In addition, the goal is to ensure the health of your gums so they can keep supporting the implants.

Brushing Your Dental Implants

Just like natural teeth, dental implants require thorough brushing twice a day. Make sure to get rid of food debris and bacteria that accumulate on the teeth and prevent plaque buildup. Plaque is acidic and filled with bacteria and can lead to chronic infection of the gums, known as gum disease. The infection can also penetrate the jawbone, decreasing its density and weakening the support for the dental implants. As a result, the dental restoration might fail.

Brushing your implants thoroughly daily is also important for preserving their color. However, do not use abrasive toothbrushes and toothpaste to avoid creating minor scratches on the porcelain surface of your implants.

Flossing with Dental Implants

Dental implants are designed to function similarly to your natural teeth. However, flossing with this artificial restoration solution can differ slightly from flossing with your natural teeth. It is still important to floss every evening to avoid gum disease and implant failure. Follow these flossing tips to ensure your implant longevity and the health of your gums:

Be careful when flossing with implants. Dental implants, being artificial restoration, are not fused with the gums in the same way as our natural teeth. Instead, there is a peri-implant seal—a barrier that protects the gum tissue around the implant from bacteria. Thus, you need to take care not to disturb or damage the seal when flossing. Overwise, you risk bacteria accumulation in the gum pockets, which leads to infections. Gently move your floss up and down between the teeth, holding it around your fingers. Avoid sudden and forceful movements, especially close to the gumline, and “snapping” the floss between the teeth.
Choose the floss that does not break or shred easily to avoid pieces of floss getting stuck between the implants and causing infections.
Consider using a water pick if you find traditional flossing challenging or if you want to boost your oral hygiene with this additional step. A water flosser loosens up food debris and plaque between the teeth and along the gumline by using a stream of pressurized water. It is most effective if used as the first step in your routine before flossing and brushing.

Professional Dental Implant Care

Visiting your dentist every 6 to 12 months for checkups and professional cleanings is just as essential with dental implants as with your natural teeth. Although implants can not get cavities, plaque and tartar buildup can still cause oral health issues and implant failure, as we mentioned before. Even if your hygiene routine is thorough, it can be challenging to sufficiently remove plaque and tartar at home, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Your dentist will be able to do it effectively by using special equipment.

In addition, your dentist can remove surface stains from your dental implants to preserve their initial color. You should never use at-home whitening solutions on your dental implants because they are designed for natural teeth enamel and are not compatible with porcelain. Instead, ask your dentist for professional whitening options for your dental implants.

Foods to Avoid with Dental Implants

One of the most significant advantages of dental implants is that they offer up to 90% natural bite force, meaning that you can enjoy a wide variety of foods. However, we still recommend to abstain from certain foods and drinks to avoid damaging your implants:

Hard and crunchy foods that can scratch or crack the implants (seeds with shells, crackers, etc.)
Staining foods and drinks (berries, beetroot, red wine, fruit juices, drinks containing dye, etc.)
Foods that require a lot of biting force (for example, cracking nuts with your implants)

Also, never use your artificial teeth as tools, for example, when opening bottles.

Make an Appointment Today

Get dental implants or professional implant care at the dental office in La Mirada. Our implant specialists use modern tools and up-to-date methods to deliver the best results. We look forward to your visit.