Dental Implant Aftercare
Looking & Feeling Your Very Best
When you visit the dentist and dentistry team at Seguin Dentures & Implants to replace one tooth or your full smile with an implant-retained prosthetic, we will partner with you every step of the way to ensure your treatment is a complete success. On this page, you’ll find some basic tips and tricks to make caring for your implant-retained replacement teeth a snap. If you ever have questions, don’t hesitate to contact our dental office in Seguin. We’ll be happy to answer your questions or schedule an appointment, so we can review your implant supported replacement tooth or teeth. We want our patients to smile with total confidence for a lifetime, and we’re happy to do everything we can to make that happen.
Make Oral Hygiene A Priority
Caring for your teeth with daily tooth brushing and flossing should always be a priority, but if you’ve been lax with your at-home oral hygiene in the past, it’s time to make some improvements. Some important things to keep in mind when caring for your smile after implant supported tooth replacement include:
- Brush teeth for two minutes at a time at least two times each day.
- For best results, you should also brush between meals, or at least take the time to use an oral rinse to remove foods particles.
- When brushing, place the toothbrush bristles at a 45-degree angle toward the gum line to remove plaque buildup around soft tissue.
- Always use soft or ultra soft toothbrushes and minimally abrasive, fluoridated tooth paste.
- If you have a full denture with no healthy remaining teeth, you do not need to use fluoridated toothpastes, but you should still use a soft bristled toothbrush to avoid excessive wear to your replacement teeth.
- You should floss at least once each day.
- To avoid tugging around the edges of your prosthetic, you may want to use a waxed floss or an air or water flosser.
- If you have a full denture, you may want to use an antimicrobial oral rinse or an air or water flosser to remove plaque buildup between the gums and dentures.
Protect Your Dental Implants
Unlike traditional dental crowns, bridges, and dentures, your implant supported restoration functions much more like your natural teeth, and many people are able to keep their prosthetic tooth or teeth for decades or even the rest of their lives. For this reason, it’s important to take some steps to protect your new smile, including:
- Wear sportsguards to protect teeth during athletic events or competitions where your smile may come in contact with other players, hard surfaces, or sports equipment.
- If you grind or clench your teeth at night, use a mouthguard to protect your natural smile and replacement teeth from excessive wear, chips, and cracks,
- Do not use your teeth to open packages or crack nuts.
- Stop chewing on ice, fingernail, or other hard objects.
Schedule Regular Recall Visits
In addition to caring for and protecting your implant supported replacement tooth at home, visiting your dentist for dental checkups and professional teeth cleanings is essential. These six month dental appointments give our team an opportunity to look for changes to your oral health, implant movement, damage to your prosthetic tooth or teeth, and other issues that may adversely impact the longevity of your denture. By visiting your dentist at least two times each year for checkups, you make it possible for your dental care provider to find and repair minor problems before your implant restoration is in major trouble. You should also let the dentist know right away if you notice changes to the way your implant tooth replacement is working. The sooner we repair damaged smiles the better.
