How to Care for Your Dental Implants

Your daily dental implant care routine will help ensure that your new smile lasts a lifetime. With a dedicated hygiene and checkup routine, dental implants in Murrieta are designed to withstand decades of use. Knowing how to care for them will increase the life of dental implants and your investment. At Springs Dental, we want you to get the most out of your beautiful new smile. Here’s how:

Daily Dental Implant Care

You’ll want to plan on treating your dental implants the same way you would any natural teeth. Although implants can’t get cavities, they’re still susceptible to plaque, tartar, and gingivitis.

Brush around your implants and gums at least twice a day. Choose a non-abrasive toothpaste and a soft toothbrush to clean your implants. If implants aren’t cleaned regularly, stain and tartar buildup will accumulate across your smile.

Like your other teeth, it’s important to clean all surfaces and focus along the gumlines, where plaque tends to be heaviest. Angle the bristles 45-degrees toward the gums, making extremely short back-and-forth movements (not wide scrubbing motions) on one or two teeth at a time. Repeat this process across the outside and inside of each tooth/implant, followed by brushing the chewing surfaces. Be sure to brush for a minimum of two minutes both morning and night, even if you’re using an electric toothbrush.

Floss or water floss around every implant once a day, minimum. There will be areas around every implant that a toothbrush does not reach. Especially just under implant bridges, All-on-4 appliances, or under the gumlines. For best results, use traditional floss with a floss threader or a water flosser to clean these spaces daily. Water flossers are ideal for multi-tooth restorations, as they are simply traced along the edges of the teeth and implants to clean those spaces.

Some of our implant patients also like to use tufted super floss or a proxy brush to clean between their gum tissues and implant bridges. A water flosser also works in these spaces.

Clean any removable appliances daily. If you have a removable overdenture, take it out and clean it as directed. Removable appliances should not be worn while sleeping. However, fixed implant bridges or All-on-4 implants will remain in place unless purposely removed by a professional.

Checkups for Dental Implants (Murrieta)

Even though dental implants might not be “real” teeth, they certainly function as such. One of the most important steps in your dental implant care routine is to schedule six-month checkups at our Murrieta dental office.

To increase the life of dental implants, you need to be sure that your gums remain healthy and that the bone tissue is strong. Since implants can accumulate plaque and tartar buildup too, we will want to thoroughly clean your implants similar to natural teeth, using implant-safe instruments. These tools are gentle on the implants to prevent any surface scratches that might accumulate further bacteria.

During your checkups, we’ll take occasional X-rays to evaluate the bone structure immediately around each implant. These images help us detect any early signs of bone resorption (shrinkage) that could jeopardize the implants’ integrity.

On occasion, your implant abutment or restoration may need to be updated. Dr. Pulsipher will monitor your implants from checkup to checkup, intercepting any issues as early as possible.

Other Things to Keep in Mind

If you’re prone to clenching or grinding your teeth, Dr. Pulsipher may recommend sleeping in a nightguard. This durable, protective appliance will lessen the strain on your implant bridges or crowns to prevent any chipping or wear.

Should you develop any symptoms of gum disease around your dental implants, our Murietta dentist will want to see you at your earliest opportunity. Treating peri-implantitis is crucial, as untreated gum infections are the leading cause of implant failure.

Dental Implants Murrieta

Whether you want to learn more about how to care for dental implants or are in the early stages of considering implant treatment, Springs Dental can help.

Contact our Murrieta office today if you have any questions!