6 Tips to Clean Your Dental Implants

It’s been estimated that three million Americans have dental implants, and the number grows by roughly 500,000 each year. Dental implants are expensive, so it’s crucial to practice basic hygiene practices to keep them clean and attractive.

Study some of the essential details about how to clean your dental implants below. If you do, you’ll protect your investment and ensure years of bright smiles!

Why Clean Dental Implants, Anyway?

Dental implants cannot decay. But they will develop plaque over time if you don’t clean them. If the plaque is not removed often, it can inflame your gums and cause dental problems.

Inflamed gums, known as gingivitis, can degenerate into periodontitis. This is a severe health issue that may cause your gums to recede and even erode the underlying bone.

Fortunately, such problems may be avoided by following the cleaning tips below.

Fine-tune Your Brushing Technique

Many of us brush our teeth with a back-and-forth movement until it feels like the teeth are clean. But this isn’t the correct way to brush either your real teeth or dental implants. Why is that?

• You can scrub away tooth enamel, which makes your natural teeth more sensitive to hot and cold.
• It’s hard on the gums, and then teeth may become more likely to damage your gums and develop cavities.
• This doesn’t clean the teeth as well as you think. The brush bristles move left and right so they bounce from one to the next tooth. You are more likely to pass over those tiny crevices between your teeth that collect bits of food and plaque.

The proper way to clean your teeth and dental implants is to position the brush at a 45-degree angle with respect to where the teeth and gums meet.

Move the brush back and forth gently to ensure the bristles go over each tooth. It’s particularly effective to ensure the bristles get around the sides of each tooth, to ensure the brush removes all plaque and food particles between your dental implants and teeth.

It may take a few days to acclimate to brushing your teeth differently. But you’ll clean your teeth and implants better and require fewer dental appointments. This is the goal when you spend a lot of money on attractive dental implants in Overland Park, KS or wherever in the US you live.

Select a Soft Toothbrush

Using a brush with soft bristles is less likely to cause gum recession. In truth, a soft brush works just as effectively to remove plaque and tartar.

Also, you might consider purchasing an electric toothbrush, because research shows they can remove bacteria more effectively than a manual hand-held brush. For one thing, an electric brush routinely generates many more brush strokes than your hand.

Whether you choose an electric or manual brush, just remember to employ the softest bristles available.

Remember Crown and Bridge Floss

It’s important to use crown and bridge floss because it’s made to clean in and around implants. Crown and bridge floss comes with stiff nylon endings that have a softer middle which cleans the surface of the implant as well as the portion that contacts your gumline.

The stiff endings let you insert dental floss between the implants where they touch the gums and pull it to the opposite side. It also can be leaned against the surface of your implant and shifted from one side to the other.

This process spreads fluoride around the implant and avoids bacterial growth that leads to infections.

Don’t Use Tobacco

Tobacco use isn’t just harmful to your lungs and heart. It can stain your implants and make you more likely to develop gum disease.

Buy a Water Flosser

Did you know that a water flosser can remove bacteria and food particles from up to 4mm below the gum line? Regular use of a water flosser can protect your teeth from plaque and bacteria that lead to tooth decay.

But using one should not replace cleaning with dental floss. Use both items and you’ll have the best results.

With daily care, your dental implants could last decades. If you want to make them last, practice these dental cleaning tips.