Dental Implant Care: 7 Tips For Looking After Your Implants
Have you just gotten your dental implant? Implant care is critical if you want it to last a lifetime. We will provide you with essential tips on doing this in this article. You may also visit a dentist near you for more information.
A dental implant procedure is an oral surgery that involves the replacement of one or more missing teeth roots with titanium screws. The surgeon will drill the titanium screw deep into your jawbone to allow fusion of both structures. That gives your false tooth a sturdy base to stand on. If you have one or more misplaced teeth, you can get dental implants near you to avoid the many problems that missing teeth cause.
What To Expect Before And During Dental Implant Surgery?
After booking a dental appointment with our dentist in Decatur, you will get a date for your dental work. On the day of your appointment, your dentist would examine your dental structure with a dental x-ray to check if you’re healthy enough for a dental implant. A healthy jawbone is necessary for the success of a dental implant, and you may need a bone graft if you don’t have enough.
Next, your dentist would schedule a treatment plan after you have passed the dental examination process. Your dentist will prepare the dental implants according to the number of missing teeth you have. Single dental implant placement can take 30-60 minutes. Hence, getting more than one dental implant would take two hours. The entire dental implant process can take up to three months or more.
The following are tips that you need for taking care of your dental implants.
Use A Soft Nylon Brush
Your dentist would advise you to get a brush with soft bristles after your dental implant to prevent injuries in the dental implant area. You can brush your teeth twice daily but use a soft nylon brush when doing so.
Avoid Abrasive Products
After your dental implants, you should avoid using toothpaste or mouthwash with harsh effects because they can cause discomfort or tingling sensations inside your mouth. Get cleaning products that are not too intense for your mouth after your dental implants.
Floss Daily
If you haven’t been sticking to the flossing routine before your dental implants, you must floss diligently after your dental implants. Daily dental flossing would help prevent plaque from building up inside your teeth holes, especially around the implanted screw.
Avoid Sticky/Hard Foods
Hard foods are the wrong choice of food after a dental implant. You should eat soft, healthy foods and avoid cracking hard food or hard stuff with your teeth. If you need to cut a snack wrapper, use scissors. Avoid potato chips, steak, gummy or hard candies, and apples after your dental implant.
Stay Away From Alcohol And Cigarette Or Tobacco
Aside from the dangers that alcohol, tobacco, or cigarettes can cause to your health, they would slow down your recovery after dental implants.
Schedule Regular Visits To The Dentist
Regular brushing and flossing can only do little in getting rid of plaque. Our toothbrushes and dental flosses have their limitations to cleaning every area of the dental structure. Dentists have special dental instruments to clean the dental structure thoroughly. They can detect dental illnesses with the help of a dental x-ray and other screening instruments.
Immediate Aftercare Tips
Immediately after the dental implant procedure, your dentist will give you some tips.
- You would be asked to prevent the bleeding by biting down on a gauze.
- It would help if you tried to limit how you move around during the first 8-12 hours after your dental implant surgery.
- Do not eat hard foods for 24 hours after your dental implant procedure.
- Do not forget to take the prescribed medications given to you by your dentist.
- Do not wash your mouth for the first 24hours after your dental implant surgery.
- It would be best to get a cab or a family member to take you home after the treatment.
You can visit our dentist office near you, where Dr. Marc Howard Roberts will be happy to listen to your concerns and proffer the best solutions. Please book an appointment right away.