How To Take Care Of A Dental Implant

A broken smile can leave you exposed to some pretty serious social stigmas. Whereas a beautiful smile can open doors and garner doting attention, a damaged smile can shut doors and garner unwanted attention. If you are looking for a way to replace a missing tooth, a dental implant will give you a tooth that will function just as well as your natural tooth. To get the most from your replacement, you will need to learn to take proper care of it.  

What Is a Dental Implant?

A dental implant consists of a post and a crown. An endodontist will install the post by drilling a hole into your jawbone, inserting the implant, then allowing it to heal for six months. Receiving a titanium post is far from a painless experience, but it is worth the time, money, and anguish that goes into receiving a post in that, it will be just as if not more strong than your natural root. Once the crown is cemented to the post, you have a tooth that will allow you to eat whatever foods you want without worrying that you will damage it. Furthermore, a dental implant will stimulate your jawbone in the same way that a natural tooth would, which will help to keep the bone healthy and thus help to keep the surrounding teeth in good condition.    

How to Care for a Dental Implant

While a dental implant is a strong structure, it is far from indestructible. Plaque will not be able to damage the crown, but poor hygiene can still cause gum disease. If you lose your gums, your post can fail, and you will lose your replacement tooth. Thus, even if you replace all of your teeth with dental implants, you will still need to brush and floss as you would do with natural teeth. You also want to advise your dental hygienist that you have an implant. If your hygienists use metal tools, they can scratch the implant and allow access for germs to get down into your gums and cause infections. At least for cleaning around your implant, the hygienist will need to use special tools.

With proper care, a dental implant can last for decades. In light of the time and money that goes into getting a dental implant, you owe it to yourself to take proper care of it. If you have a missing tooth, you should talk to a dentist (such as Davis R Troup DDS PA) to see if a dental implant is a good choice for you.  

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