Dental implants are highly effective restorative dental tools that a dentist can use to replace one, several, or an entire arch of missing teeth. You can see secure and reliable benefits from these tooth replacement solutions which may last twenty years or longer.
To ensure you qualify for this treatment, a dentist will evaluate your oral health, including your gums and jawbone. If you suffered too much damage to these areas, you might not have enough stability to support the implant. In this case, a dentist will not proceed with this treatment.
Rarely, an implant in an eligible patient can become extremely painful, fit loosely, or become infected. These are designated a failure of the device and qualify as dental emergencies requiring urgent removal by your dentist.
You will need to take proper care of your oral health in order to prevent this complication. Read on to learn tips for how to preserve your new dental implants and avoid the failure of these oral appliances.
How to Prevent Dental Implant Failure
Follow Your Dentist’s Aftercare Guidelines
Implant dentistry involves a multi-step process to fully replace missing teeth. After each step, you will need to adhere to your dentist’s instructions regarding aftercare so that you can heal properly. Otherwise, the implant might not take, and you can experience failure of the appliance.
First, you attend a consultation where a dentist evaluates your oral health to determine your eligibility for this tooth replacement treatment. Then the initial step of the treatment is oral surgery to insert the anchor of the implant into the jaw.
You will have surgical sites that need several months to heal. And during this time, the anchor fuses with the jawbone to ultimately support prosthetic teeth. You return to your dentist after this healing period to receive those dental prosthetics and complete the process.
In order to keep these sites safe during your recovery, you will need to take proper care of them. Use careful movements when you practice oral hygiene. You must stick to this regimen, but follow your dentist’s advice when it comes to the best way to do so without interfering with your healing.
Continue Good Oral Hygiene Habits
Once you receive your dental implants, the fixtures can remain in your smile for 20 years or longer. But you can maximize the length of the benefits of this treatment when you take care of your smile and dental work.
This will entail good oral hygiene habits like brushing your teeth at least twice per day and flossing on a daily basis. You should also visit your dentist for routine teeth cleanings. You do not have to do extra maintenance beyond your usual regimen to care for your implants.
Implants will not stain or decay, but your surrounding teeth and gums can sustain damage from plaque that will accrue on your fixtures. So make sure you keep up with these good habits. Bacteria from gum disease, for instance, can eat away at your gums and jawbone to cause an implant to fail.