Don't Damage Your Dental Work: 4 Ways To Protect Your Dental Implants

Now that you have dental implants, you need to provide them with the proper care. The most important thing you need to remember is that your implants still need to be brushed and flossed on a daily basis. You'll also need to continue seeing your dentist twice a year, even if you've had all your natural teeth replaced with implants. Here are four additional tips that will help you care for your implants.

1. Remain Smoke-Free

If you have dental implants, and you stopped smoking for the implant surgery, it's important that you remain smoke-free. Resuming your cigarette habit may put your implants at risk. Smoking interferes with blood flow and circulation, which can lead to infections around your dental implants. Not only that, but smoking can also lead to bone graft failure. If you're having a hard time refraining from cigarettes, talk to your dentist about a smoking cessation program.

2. Avoid Extreme Heat

If you enjoy hot beverages, you'll need to start paying attention to temperature. Drinking beverages that are extremely hot can cause serious problems for you and your implants. Now that you have implants, you should avoid any beverage or food that is hot to the touch. That's because dental implants retain heat. Unfortunately, the retained heat can lead to implant degradation. Implant degradation occurs when the heat that's absorbed into the implant causes damage to the surrounding gum tissue. If the food or beverage you're about to consume is too hot to touch with your finger, allow it to cool down first.

3. Protect Your Implants Outside

If you have dental implants, you need to take steps to protect them while you're outside, especially when you're participating in sporting activities. Before you begin participating in sporting activities with your implants, you need to do is invest in a custom mouth guard. A good mouth guard will help protect your implants from damage.

4. Visit Your Dentist if You Experience Problems

If you develop problems with your dental implants, it's important that you visit your dentist as soon as possible. This is particularly true if you develop significant pain or your implants become loose. Increased pain is never something to take lightly, especially when you have dental implants. Pain accompanied by a loosening of your implants could be a sign that your implants are failing.

Don't take chances with your implants. Use the tips provided here to protect your implants. Check out a website like http://www.charlottesvilledentistry.com/ for more information.