After a Dental Implant
Proper post treatment care is absolutely essential to ensuring that your implant procedure is successful, side effects are minimized and complications avoided. Proper maintenance is also absolutely essential to ensure that an implant gives long trouble free service.
Immediate Post Surgery Care
Most of the things you need to do and be aware off immediately after a surgery to place an implant are similar to other surgical procedures (read more).
In addition to the usual precautions, the following precautions and home care procedures are helpful.
Regularly clean the healing abutment or temporary crown with a soft toothbrush or a cotton bud soaked with Chlorhexidine mouthwash.
Do not exert any biting force at all on the healing abutment / temporary crown. During the immediate period just after the implant is placed, the bone needs to osseointegrate with the implant. What this means is that the bone cells and structure attaches itself to the implant surface. This process is most likely to be successful if the implant is not placed under any stress and there is no movement of the implant. Biting force will apply load to the implant and may even move it so that the osseointegration process may be compromised.
Do not exert excessive pressure on the implant surgery site. In some cases bone grafting material may have been placed around the implant. Like the implant, the bone graft material needs to be kept still and not be under any pressure or stress so that your bone cells may migrate into the graft site and start to lay down new bone in the space. Pressing on or fiddling with the site may interfere with this process.
Most of the things you need to do and be aware off immediately after a surgery to place an implant are similar to other surgical procedures (read more).
In addition to the usual precautions, the following precautions and home care procedures are helpful.
Regularly clean the healing abutment or temporary crown with a soft toothbrush or a cotton bud soaked with Chlorhexidine mouthwash.
Do not exert any biting force at all on the healing abutment / temporary crown. During the immediate period just after the implant is placed, the bone needs to osseointegrate with the implant. What this means is that the bone cells and structure attaches itself to the implant surface. This process is most likely to be successful if the implant is not placed under any stress and there is no movement of the implant. Biting force will apply load to the implant and may even move it so that the osseointegration process may be compromised.
Do not exert excessive pressure on the implant surgery site. In some cases bone grafting material may have been placed around the implant. Like the implant, the bone graft material needs to be kept still and not be under any pressure or stress so that your bone cells may migrate into the graft site and start to lay down new bone in the space. Pressing on or fiddling with the site may interfere with this process.
Long Term Care Of Implants
Normal oral hygiene procedures (tooth brushing and flossing) are the most important long term care an implant needs. Be mindful that, while implants are not susceptible to dental caries (tooth decay), they are MORE susceptible to gum problems than your natural teeth and so keeping the gums healthy is absolutely critical. Hence it is essential that you have your implants regularly checked for gum health and stability.
In most cases, your implant would be supporting a crown or bridge and the crown/bridge should be cared for in the same way as any other crown/bridge. (read more)
Do not exert excessive bite force on the implants. It is generally advisable to avoid biting on very hard objects like ice, nut shells, crab and lobster shells and especially bottle caps. This is especially important with implants because excessive force can
Normal oral hygiene procedures (tooth brushing and flossing) are the most important long term care an implant needs. Be mindful that, while implants are not susceptible to dental caries (tooth decay), they are MORE susceptible to gum problems than your natural teeth and so keeping the gums healthy is absolutely critical. Hence it is essential that you have your implants regularly checked for gum health and stability.
In most cases, your implant would be supporting a crown or bridge and the crown/bridge should be cared for in the same way as any other crown/bridge. (read more)
Do not exert excessive bite force on the implants. It is generally advisable to avoid biting on very hard objects like ice, nut shells, crab and lobster shells and especially bottle caps. This is especially important with implants because excessive force can
- break or damage the connecting screw between the implant and the abutment and crown. If the screw is broken in a such a way that it cannot be retrieved it may be necessary to remove the implant and replace it.
- fracture the crown/abutment.
- in severe cases fracture the implant or cause failure of the osseointegration with the bone. Such a case would necessitate removal of the implant.