Once you’ve had your dental implants fitted and you’ve begun the healing process, you need to make sure you’re maintaining extra detailed oral care. One of the biggest issues with patients after the dental implant procedure, is that they don’t work to maintain the level of oral hygiene needed to keep the gums, teeth and implants healthy and bacteria free. This can cause them to have more tooth decay or even to have the implants fail. Here’s all you need to know from your dentist in Molesey on maintaining your dental implants.

The healing process

Now each one of our patients at Smilessence is special and unique, and that also translates to how you will recover from your dental implant procedure. For those people who have had just one tooth replaced, without the need of a bone graft, it will be a far simpler process than for those who have had multiple teeth removed and replaced, especially those who have needed to undergo bone graft treatments.

In order to accelerate the healing process as much as possible there are things you can do to help. First, try and make sure you’ve given yourself a couple of rest days after surgery, taking time to relax will seriously benefit you later in the process. Try to avoid touching the area as much as possible, and avoid any foods that are hard to chew, or crunchy. You shouldn’t be partaking in any strenuous exercise, and try to avoid heavy lifting. Unfortunately saunas and steam rooms are out of bounds and no trips to the pool for the first week or so.

Cleaning

The most important part of the healing process after dental implant surgery, is keeping on top of your oral hygiene routine conscientiously. Make sure you are brushing twice daily for at least two minutes, taking time to check your brushing technique. Using a circular motion as opposed to a back and forth motion will encourage more bacteria removal and give you a better all round clean.

If you aren’t already flossing it could be time to start – we understand that for lots of people flossing can be time consuming and little bit of a nuisance, however, it is the only method of deep cleaning that’s able to get deep between the teeth and the gums and give the area a good clear out. Bacteria is most commonly built up in these areas and as it builds up it turns into tartar and plaque which are the leading causes of gum disease and tooth decay. So, if you want to keep your lovely new dental implants in place and healthy, you need to stay on top of keeping your gums healthy too. As with gum disease, poor maintenance could lead to peri-implantitis, a destructive inflammation infection which wears away at your implants, just as gum disease would wear away at your natural teeth. Talk to our dentist in Molesey next time you visit us to find out if your oral routine is up to scratch.

If you would like to talk to our dentist in Molesey about the possibility of having dental implants, please do get in touch and one of the team will be happy to talk you through the process.