One of the best things about dental implants is their stunning durability. They’re capable of outlasting other methods of tooth replacement by a matter of two to one, and can even stick around for a lifetime if you take care of them correctly.
However, it is necessary to maintain your dental implants if you don’t want them to fail. This shouldn’t be difficult, but there’s a little bit of know-how you need if you’re trying to keep them in good condition. Here are some tips that might be useful to you.
See Your Dentist Regularly
Even if you set out to be vigilant regarding the state of your dental implants, it can often be really difficult to tell when something is on the verge of going wrong without the help of a professional.
This is part of why it’s especially important to talk to your dentist often. It’s usually recommended that you see them twice a year for checkups and cleanings, allowing them not only to maintain your dental work, but to detect issues before they lead to implant failure.
Watch What You Eat
Dental implants offer patients incredible bite strength, allowing them to enjoy a much broader diet than they likely could otherwise. In fact, most patients find that they can eat just about anything they would with their natural teeth.
However, there are still some foods worth avoiding, dental implant or not. Excessive sweets can easily contribute to both gum disease and tooth decay, both of which can contribute to your implant’s chance of failing. Biting into something hard can also damage the implant, which means that you should be careful around bones or ice cubes.
Maintain Excellent Hygiene
As you might expect, the best thing you can do for the success of your dental implant is daily dental hygiene. The most common way that implants fail is via infection; by brushing and flossing regularly, you can keep this at bay.
So long as you’re diligent with your maintenance, you can expect your dental implants to serve you for an incredibly long time!
About the Author
Dr. Paul Samia believes that his most important job as a dentist is to prevent the most serious oral health problems before they arise. That means not only doing what he can to make sure that the placement of dental implants is successful, but that once they’re in place, you can reliably keep them in good condition. Dr. Samia received his dental degree from the Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College, and he earned his Fellowship in Implantology, earned through the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
If you have any questions about dental implant failure, he can be reached at his website or by phone at (919) 779-2818.