Dental implants Nottingham are a serious long-term investment both financially and medically, and I’m sure if you’ve decided to opt for them, you are well aware of the necessary commitment to maintaining them in the long run. Dental implants are functionally amazing and look just like natural teeth, so why wouldn’t you want to do all you can to keep them ship shape for the rest of your life?
The Science Bit
Dental implants are titanium fixtures that can be attached to your jaw bone. After an implant is attached, it is left to heal, and later, a crown (the false tooth) can be fixed to the top. The design works so that it essentially replaces the tooth’s root and, as such, offers a system that is unlike any other when it comes to tooth replacement. But as implants work just like natural teeth, they need to be cared for in the same way too. Many patients assume that their new dental implants don’t need in-depth cleaning since they are false teeth, but this couldn’t be more wrong.
Recovery
Before jumping to long-term maintenance, I want to stress the importance of taking your initial recovery from surgery seriously. If you want your implants to last a lifetime, then you need to give them a good chance to do so from day one. Lots of patients think that the implantation process is only minor surgery and that they’ll be back to work on the same day; however, a few days on the sofa won’t actually be a bad idea. That’s not to make you feel like this is a massive procedure, but taking things steadily will allow the body to heal quicker.
After the first process is completed (the implantation), and especially if you’ve undergone a bone graft, try to take a few days off from work, even if this means having the surgery on a Friday so that you can rest over the weekend. Our bodies are naturally not very keen on the idea of being poked and prodded, so just having a calm space to heal will help. Stressed bodies take longer to heal; this is just a fact.
Where possible, try to adapt your lifestyle to cater to the healing process; avoid saunas and strenuous exercise for a week since anything that causes a major change in body temperature could aggravate the implant site. And, of course, keep away from chewy toffees!
Maintenance
Cleaning is essential; if you don’t know what a complete oral hygiene routine is, then you need to find out. Talk to your dentist about what they recommend when it comes to cleaning, but at the very basic level, you should brush twice a day and floss once a day. You need to take more time and consideration when cleaning your teeth and realise that poor oral maintenance can cause further tooth loss or even the rejection of your dental implants, not to mention it could even be the reason you’ve lost teeth in the first place.
