Aftercare Advice for your Dental Implants

18 / 09 / 2017

Aftercare Advice for your Dental Implants

Keeping Dental Implants Healthy With Diligent Aftercare

Having taken the decision to replace missing teeth with dental implants, patients will undergo a fairly detailed procedure, followed by a few months wait until the Dental Implants have successfully fused with the bone.

Given the commitment to this process and the fact that they may not be the cheapest tooth replacement method available, it makes very good sense to look after the new implants to make sure that they remain both strong and healthy, providing you with the maximum benefits. In today’s blog, we look at the various stages of dental implant aftercare.

Immediate care

As you would expect from a procedure such as this, there may be some minor initial bleeding following the procedure, followed by a period of soreness. This is to be expected and can usually be managed with your regular painkiller. Even though the area of the procedure will be too sore to brush initially, it is imperative that you keep the area clean. This can be done by using a warm (not hot) saline solution which is tipped gently over the area before being allowed to fall from the mouth – try not to spit. You will be given full instructions about how to do this by your Ipswich implant dentist.

Care should also be taken when eating. We generally recommend that liquid or very soft foods are taken for a short period of time to allow the implant to start the osseointegration process, where it begins to bond with the bone.

Care during osseointegration (bonding)

A little while after the implant has been placed, the osseointegration period will commence. Despite the implant starting to fuse with the bone, it will not yet be strong enough to withstand regular eating and we suggest that you eat softer foods during this period. Foods such as mashed potatoes, well-cooked pasta (not al dente) and soft rice and fish may be eaten.

You may, around this stage, start to use a very soft toothbrush to brush around the implant gently. This will help to remove any bacterial build-up which may otherwise lead to gum disease.

Longer-term dental implant care

Once your titanium dental implant has successfully bonded with the bone, and the crown has been attached, your implant placement process is complete. With good care and attention, this implant should last for twenty years and often many more, provided that you look after it.

Although you will be able to eat anything that you normally would with your natural teeth, we still recommend that you exercise a little caution for a week or so after the crown has been attached. This is really for your comfort and orientation, as the new replacement tooth may feel a little strange if you have previously had a gap there.

Generally, though, you can treat your new implant as you would a natural tooth, brushing it like a natural tooth and using dental floss to clean around it. This is especially important in order to avoid periodontitis or peri-implantitis which can cause bone damage and may cause the implant to fail. Thankfully, good home care, along with routine hygienist visits should be sufficient to avoid this happening.

If you would like to discover more about the use of implants for tooth replacement, please arrange an initial consultation with our implant dentist at the Lighthouse Dental Practice in Ipswich by calling us on 01473 257379.

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If you would like to speak to a member of our friendly team about any of the issues in this article please visit our contact page or call us on 01473 257379.