Caring for Dental Implants
Green Bay, WI
 The surgical placement of your dental implants is just the beginning of your restoration. Following a period of healing, and the addition of a dental prosthetic, frequent care is necessary for long term success of your implant. Thankfully, this care may already be part of your daily oral hygiene, and if you need guidance, we are happy to provide tips to help. Our staff at Bay Lakes Center for Complex Dentistry wants to help you be successful in restoring and maintaining your dental health, including the addition of dental implants.
Rebuilding a missing tooth with a dental implant is an excellent option. We are able to rebuild single teeth, multiple teeth, or even an entire arch of teeth using various implant options. Dental implants provide a stabilized post in your mouth that we can then use to permanently secure a dental prosthetic to, including a dental crown, bridge, or denture. Depending on the work being completed, multiple implants may be required.
Following the placement of your surgical implant, there are some immediate and long term steps you will want to follow for their care. This includes:
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Healing: Following surgery, we will first observe soft tissue healing, and then hard tissue healing. Your soft gum tissue will heal rather quickly, in a matter of days. While your soft tissue is healing, you will want to avoid drinking through straws, be aware of excessive bleeding, and be cautious of the signs of infection. Hard tissue, or bone, healing will take much longer, possibly months. As the bone heals, it will grow up and around the threads of the dental implant fusing the two firmly together. This natural healing process is known as osseointegration. Bone healing is what will provide the firm stability to the implant.
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Eating: Chewing will need to begin slowly. We may advise you to be on a soft food diet for many weeks while the implant stabilizes in your mouth. We can offer more specific guidance to you based on where and how many implants are being placed. Once the implant is firm, and the prosthetic is placed, you should be able to resume biting and chewing your regular diet.
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Brushing and Flossing: Once the soft tissue has healed, you can brush and floss around your implant and prosthetic just as you would your natural teeth. Using a soft bristled brush, possibly with an electric handle, brush all sides of the prosthetic and along the gumline to remove plaque and debris. After brushing, use floss, or a water agitator, to clean between the prosthetic and neighboring teeth. Your tissue has been rebuilt, but it is still subject to infection, and we want to protect your gum and bone tissue.
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Water, Saliva, and Rinse: Regularly drinking water helps remove food debris and other loose particles from your mouth. Drinking water is especially important to patients who have decreased saliva production. Finally, rinsing after brushing and flossing helps remove remaining particles and may even kill bacteria depending on the rinse you are using. |
Dental implants are a great option, but they still require continued care and maintenance just as your natural teeth for long term success. To find out if you are a candidate for dental implants, call Bay Lakes Center for Complex Dentistry at (920) 278-7678. |
GREEN BAY (920) 278-7678
