How To Clean And Care For Your Dental Implants
More and more people are taking advantage of dental implants to fill in missing spaces in their smiles. You will want to make sure you do a good job of caring for those implants because of the risk of developing something called peri-implantitis. This oral infection can not only ruin your implant but cause serious infections that could affect the bones of your jaw. Fortunately, proper cleaning of your implants will keep your smile healthy and glowing for a very long time. Read on for some cleaning tips to follow.
Use the Right Brush
You can get the job done without resorting to stiff-bristled brushes. Dentists advise using a soft-bristled toothbrush for cleaning your implants safely. If you have healthy gums and they bleed with brushing, you might need to step it down a notch and go for a softer brush. Electric toothbrushes do a great job of removing the harmful bacteria from your teeth that cause decay and disease. You should also use a soft brush on the electric version.
Pay Attention to Your Toothpaste Choices
You can purchase a wide variety of toothpastes that address everything from whitening to tartar buildup. To clean and preserve the shine on your implants, go with a non-abrasive toothpaste without baking soda or other stain-removing ingredients. You can also find toothpastes that are made specifically for use on implants.
Brush Daily and Nightly
At the very least, brush first thing and last thing at night. Bacteria should not be given the opportunity to sit in your mouth all night long doing damage. You may, if you wish, brush after each meal as needed.
Pay Attention to Your Implant Area
You want to remove bacteria from in and around the area where your implant crown meets your gum line. Focus on those areas by using either an interdental brush or a brush with an angled neck.
Use an Oral Irrigator When You Floss
Water pics, water jets, water flossers – these all tend to work better than manual flossing. Your goal is to loosen and remove bacteria that can accumulate in pockets. You might want to floss first and then brush to preserve the benefits of the fluoride in your toothpaste.
Extra Tips for All-On-Four Implants
In addition to the above, implants with bridges deserve a few extra steps to ensure cleanliness. Food and bacteria have a tendency to get trapped between your gum line and the bridge. If you have a water flosser, use the rubber tip that often comes with the kit. This tip can be used to gently remove debris from the bridge area of the implant. Be sure to use low or medium settings only. Finally, many people use a special brush to clean around the area between the implant and the bridge called a sulcus brush.
To get more cleaning tips for your implants, speak to your dentist. You can also contact dental professionals like those at Sun Dental.
Share
