Taking Care of Your Dental Implants

Have you restored your lost teeth with dental implants? Following a few of these tips and visiting your Thornton, CO, dentist, Dr. Christina McMillon of Hearthside Dentistry, for periodic checkups will help you keep your implants in good condition.

How to Keep Your Implants Healthy

Following these steps will help you protect your new teeth:

• Brush Twice a Day: Brushing removes plaque, a sticky biofilm that contains bacteria. If you brush in the morning and evening you'll reduce your risk of developing peri-implantitis, an infection that can loosen your dental implants.
• Use a Soft Brush: Choose a toothbrush with soft bristles, and use gentle strokes to clean your crown and the base of your new tooth. Whether you use a manual or power toothbrush, brushing is one of the simplest things you can do to protect your implant.
• Choose Low-Abrasive Toothpaste: Whitening toothpaste and those that contain baking soda, charcoal or other abrasive ingredients can damage your implants and crowns.
• Floss Daily: If you've only flossed occasionally in the past, you'll need to make flossing a daily habit now. Flossing keeps bacteria and food debris from collecting under your crown. Poor flossing habits are often a factor in peri-implantitis. You can use string floss, interdental brushes, crown and bridge floss or water flossers to keep the area between your crown and implant clean.
• Avoid Smoking: If you were a smoker in the past, you probably stopped smoking before you received your implant on the advice of your dentist. Smoking can interfere with healing and increase the risk of implant failure. Remind yourself that you could put your brand new tooth at risk if you start smoking again.
• Use an Anti-Microbial Mouth Rinse: These rinses kill bacteria and offer added protection if you have dental implants.
• Let Your Dentist Know If You Notice Gum Changes: If the gum around your implant begins to bleed or you notice that the gum has begun to recede, call your dentist immediately.
• Don't Forget to Schedule Checkups: During your checkups at the Thornton dental office, your dentist will carefully examine your implants to ensure that they're healthy and that your crowns are in good condition.

Protect your dental implants with regular dental checkups! Call your dentist in Thornton, CO, Dr. McMillon of Hearthside Dentistry, at (303) 280-2285 to schedule your appointment.