How do you protect your dental implants

Dental Implants Dental implants can greatly improve your quality of life and your level of comfort when eating, smiling, and speaking.

However, all dental implants require simple steps to ensure the longevity of the implant and your own continued oral health. See below for advice on how to care for your dental implant from your Kitty Hawk area dentist, Dr. Markus Heyder at Atlantic Dentistry.

Simple steps you can take to protect your dental implants.

1. Regular Flossing and Brushing: nothing protects your implants and your other teeth and gums better than daily flossing and twice-a-day brushing with a fluoride toothpaste.

2. Quit Smoking: smoking greatly increases the risk of infection after receiving a dental implant. The nicotine and hydrogen cyanide found in cigarette smoke can jeopardize your implant and cause it to fail. Use the time before getting a dental implant to quit smoking.

3. Avoid certain toothpaste: hopefully you quit smoking before your dental implant, and you might be looking at toothpaste options that can remove tobacco stains. However, these kinds of toothpastes carry extra abrasives and can potentially damage your new implant. If you are in Kitty Hawk, better to skip the abrasive toothpaste when you have a new implant and schedule a simple teeth cleaning procedure with Dr. Heyder.

4. Avoid certain foods: stay away from hard candies and soda. Hard candy can damage and loosen your implants, and the sugar in both candy and sodas can damage your implant and surrounding gums. Also avoid chewing on hard objects such as pencils and pens that can damage your dental implant.

5. Grinding teeth: if you know that you grind your teeth at night while sleeping, you can purchase a nighttime dental guard for a very reasonable cost. This simple device will save you a lot of headache and trouble with your new implant.

Your new dental implant is designed to last a very long time, as long as you follow these simple steps. You dental implant is an investment, and to protect that investment brush and floss regularly, quit smoking, and avoid sugary foods. If you are in or visiting the Kitty Hawk region, contact Dr. Markus Heyder at Atlantic Dentistry for more information on dental implants and their care.

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