27 May 2021
You’ve done it; you’ve finally gotten dental implants and are ecstatic with your new smile. Unfortunately, you’re not out of the clear yet. It’s important to work to maintain your new smile and take care of your full arch dental implants so you get long term wear out of them. Keep reading to discover our top 4 tips to maintaining dental implants Palm Beach County, FL.
1. Avoid harsh products
This should go without saying, but steer clear of products with abrasives in them. That means you’ll want to opt for toothpaste and mouthwash designed for sensitive teeth. If you really want to minimize discomfort, you should steer clear from strong-flavored oral health products such as mint and cinnamon.
2. Use a soft toothbrush
This goes hand and hand with using harsh products. Swap out your old toothbrush for a soft nylon one. Nylon toothbrushes have gentle, pliable bristles that will help make your implants last longer. Toothbrushes with hard bristles can scratch and damage the surface of your implants, meaning more time back in your dentist’s chair and more money out of your pocket.
If you really want to maintain your implants, consider purchasing a toothbrush that is specifically designed for implant care. FlossAction and CrossAction heads from Oral-B are two excellent options. Your oral surgeon may also recommend interdental brushes, which can get in between your teeth for an even deeper clean.
3. Avoid hard foods
No one wants to hear that their diet has to be restricted from an oral procedure designed for restoring their natural teeth. However, after your surgery you should avoid most hard foods. This includes: apples, chips, carrots, tough meat such as steak, hard candy, and the list goes on.
Avoiding these foods while you’re recovering will make your treatment plan go much smoother and minimize discomfort. Once you’ve completely healed, it’s safe to slowly begin reincorporating some of these foods into your diet.
If you can, most dentists recommend avoiding as much hard food as possible even after your implants have healed to minimize implant or tooth replacement from unnecessary damage. However, dentists also realize that we’re human and hard food every now and then isn’t going to completely ruin your smile or damage multiple teeth. After all, one of the reasons you probably got dental implants in the first place is for restoring your smile, replacing teeth, or strengthening your damaged natural teeth.
4. Floss regularly
The American Dental Association claims that flossing is an essential part of taking care of your teeth and gums; you should have been doing it well before you had implants to minimize tooth loss in the first place. Flossing minimizes the possibility of tooth decay and gum diseases. However, flossing with dental implants is even more important because plaque can accumulate around your implants, damaging them over time.
To make flossing easy, try setting a reminder on your phone to ensure you do it every day. If you’re going out to lunch with a friend, stick some floss in your bag or car for once your get together is over. As a general rule of thumb, you should floss within half an hour of when you finish eating.
Whether you recently got dental implants and are trying to figure out how to maintain them or you’re considering getting dental implants in the first place, KA Dental Boynton Beach is here to answer all your questions. For more information about dental implants Palm Beach County and a full list of procedures, check out KA Dental online.
To schedule a free consultation today, call the KA Dental office in Boynton Beach, FL at (561) 737-2000. We look forward to helping you restore your facial structure, supplement your overall health, and helping you achieve the smile you deserve.
