Your Dental Implants And the Risk of Peri-Implantitis

18 / 05 / 2018

Your Dental Implants And the Risk of Peri-Implantitis

A Look At Two Related Problems Which Can Threaten Your Dental Implants

When you have a tooth implant placed by our experienced implant dentist at the Lighthouse Dental Practice, there is no reason why it should not remain strong and healthy for a minimum of twenty years, and often more.

You will need to take care of it, of course, but this is relatively straightforward to do.

Aside from an accident where the implant is damaged, there are two major risks to the titanium implant. These are periodontitis and peri-implantitis.

Periodontitis

Periodontitis is an advanced form of gum disease, but it is reasonably easy to avoid with just a little care. Although some groups, such as diabetics, are at an increased risk, there is no real reason why gum disease should reach this stage. Preventative care is all that is needed to reduce the risk of this becoming a problem for your dental implant.

These are the basic ‘rules’ that should be followed:

• Brush your teeth twice a day, angling the bristles towards the gum so that it cleans just beneath the gum line.
• Use dental floss to clean the spaces between your teeth, including around the implant.
• See the hygienist at the Lighthouse Dental Practice every six months or as recommended for a professional clean.

These three simple tips should help to keep you free from periodontitis and your implant in good health.

Peri-implantitis

Peri-implantitis is specific to dental implants, as the name implies. It is similar to periodontitis but is an inflammatory process that affects both the soft and hard tissues surrounding the titanium implant. Apart from any discomfort caused by this, the implant may become loose and eventually fail. Although it may sometimes be possible to treat this should it arise; as with periodontitis, preventing it is a far better option. Where treatment is needed, antibiotics, removal of dead tissue and a thorough clean may be able to save your implant. In our view though, it is better not to take this risk and do all that you can to prevent it in the first instance.

If you follow the three tips above, you give yourself the best chance of avoiding problems. You should also continue to see our Ipswich implant dentist as well so that they can monitor your mouth for any problems such as this, and, where necessary, treat it early.

With good care, your dental implants should give you many years of strong and trouble-free service. If you have a gap in your teeth and would like to see how implants can benefit you, please call the Lighthouse Dental Practice on 01473 257 379 to arrange an initial consultation with us.

We are here to help you.
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.