The Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants are the ideal way to restore the gaps in your smile caused by missing teeth. They don’t just look fantastic — they also enhance the health of your smile.

Dental implants are the healthy choice for smile restoration because they prevent your remaining teeth from shifting around. When gaps in your smile are left unfilled, it damages the stability of your smile and this can irritate your gums and cause gum disease.

Another benefit with dental implants is that they’re the only smile restoration that promotes healthy jawbone growth. Dentures and dental bridges, on the other hand, do nothing to prevent the jawbone disintegration that occurs as a result of tooth loss.

If Dr. Anderson has already restored your smile, then you’ve undoubtedly seen these advantages for yourself. Dental implants look and function like your natural teeth and you’ll never need to remove them for cleaning or any other reason.

Choose Gentle Hygiene Products for Your Implants

In fact, you care for your dental implants the same way you take care of your natural teeth, by brushing and flossing every day. But there’s one crucial difference — it’s essential to use gentle hygiene products with your implants.

Abrasive cleaning products can scratch your implants or irritate the soft tissue that supports them. With that in mind, we’ve put together this guide for choosing the best oral hygiene products for use with your dental implants.

Choosing the Right Toothbrush

Research indicates that you can do a good job of protecting your implants using either a manual or an electric toothbrush. But you’ll definitely want to find one with soft or extra soft bristles that won’t scratch your implants.

The most important factor when brushing is to keep at it for at least two minutes and thoroughly go over all the sections of your smile. Many electric toothbrushes have timers that can remind you to brush long enough. If you have trouble applying adequate pressure on your own, an electric toothbrush is recommended.

Choosing the Right Toothpaste

Many types of toothpaste contain abrasive ingredients that can harm your implants or irritate soft tissue. This includes any kind of whitening toothpaste or smoker’s toothpaste, which should definitely be avoided by people with dental implants.

Check the label before you buy and stay away from toothpaste with any of the following ingredients: stannous fluoride, sodium fluoride, and baking soda.

Choosing the Right Mouthwash

Daily rinsing with mouthwash is an important part of an effective oral health regimen. Mouthwash can fight tartar and the bacteria which cause gum disease.

But you’ll want to avoid any type of whitening mouthwash and mouthwash that contains alcohol. Alcohol dries out your mouth and this reduces your ability to fight against dangerous bacteria.

Choosing the Right Floss or Interdental Cleaner

Interdental cleaners remove debris from between your teeth. Dental floss is the most common type of interdental cleaner.

When you buy floss, choose a brand that’s nylon-coated. You can also find floss that’s designed specifically for use with dental implants.

Many of our patients tell us that an interdental brush works well for cleaning around their dental implants. But metal brushes can damage implants and irritate soft tissue, so make sure to get one that’s either plastic or plastic-coated.