Patients with one or several single unit dental implants –
Your maintenance is just the same – treat the implant and implant crown much like it is a natural tooth. That is what implants were designed for. You should maintain your regular dental hygiene appointments, floss ALL TEETH and the area around the implant, and brush twice per day. Remember dental hygiene appointments are needed twice a year for healthy patients, and four times a year for patients diagnosed with periodontal disease!. It may be recommended for you to also wear a nightguard, if so wear this every night.
Patients with an All on Four – Permanently attached Dental Bridge
Patients who cannot remove their prosthesis ie – one that is attached to four or more dental implants have different challenges when it comes to cleaning their teeth. Since the prosthesis is not removable, it must be cleaned in a special way.
– Use a water pick that has an adjustable flow. You will place the nozzle at the junction between the tissue and the prosthesis. Spray water from the cheek side and the tongue side. Your goal here is to flush out debris from under the prosthesis.
– Use Superfloss from Oral B. There is a poky straight end, work this through and underneath, then floss in-between the implants with the larger Cat-tail like end. This mechanically debrides the surface. Here is a link to the manufactures website, a YouTube video, and where you can buy it.
– Brush the prosthesis with a toothbrush just like natural teeth. NOTE: use toothpaste if you have a zirconia prosthesis, but NO TOOTHPASTE if you have acrylic titanium All on Four (dip your toothbrush in mouth rinse). Toothpaste can scratch the acrylic and the facing of the denture teeth but the porcelain and zirconia are not scratched by toothpaste. If you have opposing natural teeth these will need to be brushed with toothpaste, I recommend using 2 different toothbrushes so you don’t get confused.
– As you brush your prosthesis, be sure to brush the gums and try to get the bristles under the prosthesis.
– Nightguard- Anything man-made will wear, a nightguard helps keep your teeth separated during the night time to help lower wear and tear on your all on four prostheses.
– See your dental hygenist every 6 months
Patients with a snap on style denture
If you have dental implants and your denture can come in and out of the mouth by snapping in and out. Remember, you will need to have the snaps in the denture changed every 6-9 months, there is a fee in our office for this, and you also need to have the implants cleaned every 6 months to 1 year. Here is the needed maintenance:
– Remove your dentures at night to let your tissues rest. For patients that deny this request, then leave the dentures out for 1 hour at some point during the day. When removed place them in water.
– Brush your dentures with a denture brush and soap/water on a nightly basis. Be sure to clean the nylon retention inserts or snaps inside the denture- this helps to keep food from limiting your ability to “snap in”
– Brush your gold posts sticking through the gums with a toothbrush and toothpaste
– Brush your tongue and all mucosal (pink) areas to debride
– Soak your dentures with polydent tabs if you prefer, but only do this once a week. More frequent use of tabs will discolor your dentures and turn them orange. NEVER place dentures in bleach
– See our hygienist every 6 months – 1 year for cleaning
– Have the nylon retention inserts changed when they no longer engage the abutment, this can be every 6-9 months or longer.
Enjoy your teeth, take care of them and take care of your implants. The better you are at taking care of your mouth and implants the longer things will last.
Contact us
If you would like a dental appointment to let us help you maintain your dental implant then give us a call at 806 803 9219. We look forward to caring for your dental work!