"Home
Maintenance"
With dental implants,
it's great to be able to chew with comfort and have a confidence in your smile again. Good
oral hygiene keeps your implants in shape while also allowing your gums, jaws, and
remaining natural teeth to remain clean and healthy.
Caring for your new dental implants means taking extra time and effort to clean them regularly and have routine dental checkups.
Tips to keeping your dental implants in shape: |
Cleaning your dental implants
| Regular cleaning of your dental implants and any remaining natural teeth will keep them clean and bright. Just like your natural teeth, you should brush your implants (both the prosthesis and abutments) after every meal. It is recommended that a small toothbrush or special interdental brush be used to clean the abutments. A toothbrush with a bent handle can be used to reach behind the teeth to the abutments. A special foam coated floss should be used to clean around your gums, abutments, and prosthetic teeth. |
|
|
 |
|
||||||
| Toothbrush or Interdental Brush |
Bent Toothbrush | Foam Coated Floss |
Brushing your teeth
Brushing your teeth sounds easy, but with your new dental implants a
little more effort is required. Special attention is required for the below areas:
Removable Prosthesis:
|
Remove you prosthesis and brush both the inside and outside. |
|
Brush around the gums and abutments while our prosthesis is removed. |
Fixed Prosthesis:
|
Brush fixed prosthetic teeth as thoroughly as you would brush natural teeth. |
|
Reach with the brush behind the teeth to brush the back of the abutments. |
Flossing your teeth
You will need to floss your new dental implants more than you
flossed before.
| Removable Prosthesis: |
Fixed Prosthesis: |
|
Floss around the abutments with the prosthesis is removed. |
|
Floss around the abutments from the front, sides, and behind. |
Chewing Comfortable Again ! |
Once your prosthesis is stable, you'll be able to eat almost
anything you'd like. To avoid causing any damage to you new dental implants it is
wise to stay away from chewing on ice, pencils, or other hard objects. No other
metal objects, other than silverware, should be put into your mouth.
Routine Check - Ups |
At least twice a year your dental implants should be checked as you see your hygienist. At this checkup the doctor and the hygienist will check your prosthesis to see how well it fits your mouth, make repairs, and clean the abutments. At least once a year the stability of the anchors and the health of your jaws and gums should also be checked.
Any other special instructions will be given to you by Dr. Bains at the time of your visit.