Accidents Happen: A Guide to Children's Emergencies

Dental implants are one way to replace a missing tooth. The implant is a post that gets placed inside the empty socket where the tooth had been. Once the bone heals around the base of the implant, you are able to have a denture, crown, or other tooth replacement placed on the post. Getting a dental implant is a huge investment of money and time. Once you have gotten your dental implant, how are you supposed to care for it. You don't want to do anything that might cause your implant to fail. 

Low Abrasive Toothpaste

Good aftercare for your implant starts with using the right toothpaste. Many toothpastes have some kind of abrasive agent in them. The abrasive agent is there to help get the plaque off your teeth. Generally the abrasive isn't damaging to your teeth. However, the replacement on your implant isn't nearly as strong as your teeth. The abrasives in a toothpaste can damage the implant when you brush. The abrasiveness of toothpaste is generally measured as Relative Dentin Abrasion (RDA). You should be able to find the RDA on the toothpaste tube or box. You are looking for an RDA of under 70. If you can't find an RDA, look for the ingredients. Abrasive ingredients include things like calcium pyrophosphate, sodium metaphosphate, and zirconium silicate. One tip here is that usually the higher the ingredient is in the list, the more of it there is. 

Floss

Just like your natural teeth, it's important that you floss around your implant daily. Because there may be a very, very tiny gap in between the replacement tooth and the gum, it would be very easy for bacteria to get down into that area. That could cause things like periodontal disease, and even infections in the bone. So, make sure that you floss around your implant, making sure to get down as far as possible if you can reach the area where the tooth meets the post, make sure that you thoroughly floss it. Flossing will also help to prevent bacteria and plaque from starting cavities on the sides of the teeth next to your implant. Flossing is really the best way to get in between those areas to get the bacteria out. Make sure that you use a clean section of floss as you go. 

You want to make sure that your implant lasts as long as possible. You also want to make sure that it looks good. Using the proper aftercare is the best way to make sure that your implant lasts for a long time. For more information, contact Dr. James Oline.