Your smile is the most beautiful thing you wear, but if your teeth have decayed or you have massive gaps in your teeth, you might be reluctant to smile so often. Missing teeth hampers our social interactions and hits our confidence when talking to others.

With advancements in dentistry, thankfully, traditional dentures are not the only option if you want to get a beautiful smile but have missing teeth. You can now have a more natural-looking, safer, and durable option to dentures in the form of dental implants.

The longevity of these fixtures depends greatly on how you care for them and keep them clean. Let us learn in this article a little more about these oral appliances and how to maintain them in the best possible way.

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are artificial teeth that consist of metal posts surgically fitted to the jawbone to replace a missing or broken tooth or a set of teeth.
⦁ They are made of high-grade titanium and look and function like natural teeth.
⦁ After the fixture is placed at the desired position in your mouth, the body initiates a fusion process known as osseointegration, which ensures that the appliance is secured in the gums, just like a natural tooth root.
⦁ For the final restoration (dentures, bridge, or crown) process, an abutment is added later, allowing secure attachment.

Keeping Your Dental Implants Clean
The gums around your oral appliance must be healthy for the implant to stay in place. Peri-implantitis is the biggest risk associated with these fixtures, a gum disease associated with implants. When the bones and gums surrounding your artificial teeth get infected, the attachment tissue around your appliance will weaken its hold. So, it is highly essential to keep your implants clean, and here are some things you must follow to keep your mouth free of infection while wearing this oral appliance:

⦁ Brush them – Though these fixtures do not develop cavities, they are still prone to tartar buildup and stains. Brush them for two minutes twice a day to keep them clean. For brushing, you must use non-abrasive toothpaste along with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Harsh products can get too rough for any kind of tooth restoration. You should brush your implant in the same way as you would brush your natural teeth.
⦁ Floss around the appliance – You can use unwaxed tape or buy floss designed specifically for dental implants to clean between your teeth. Flossing around these fixtures is similar to normal flossing around natural teeth. Make a “C” shape with the floss around the fixture, then rub it up and down a couple of times to thoroughly eradicate food debris. A water flosser is an excellent alternative to traditional flossers. Water flossers, also called oral irrigators, use a steady flow of water to eradicate microorganisms from pockets as deep as six millimeters. All you have to do is trace the water flosser around your fixtures and other teeth to reach under the gumline, where normal flossers cannot reach.
⦁ Use gum stimulators for removing plaque buildup – A gum stimulator is another way to ensure the longevity of your artificial teeth and protect your gums. A gum stimulator consists of a tool having a rubber tip that can get inside your gum pockets and remove hidden food particles and plaque, which could gather inside them over time.
⦁ Visit your dentist regularly – Visiting your dentist regularly is of utmost importance if you have got dental implants fixed. Through regular checkups and professional cleanings, any lingering plaque or tartar can be removed by your doctor before it can lead to a more severe gum disease called periodontitis.

Recovery Time After Dental Implants

After your surgery for fixing artificial teeth, you would take two days to recover fully. There could be slight pain and discomfort, disappearing within one to two days. Some important post-surgery suggestions are listed below:

⦁ On the day of getting these fixtures, you should have someone with you to drive you back because you might be sedated during the procedure, and it is not safe to drive immediately after that.
⦁ In the first eight to twelve hours, do not move around excessively, and try to sit with your head in an elevated position as much as possible.
⦁ Repeat the ice application on your face all through the day. Apply it on the site for fifteen minutes, remove it for fifteen minutes, and repeat the process.
⦁ You should eat and drink only soft foods for the first forty-eight hours after the surgery.
⦁ Do not forget to take all the medications prescribed by your dentist.
⦁ Avoid rinsing your mouth for the first twenty-four hours, and after that, gently rinse your mouth with lukewarm salt water after every meal.

Dental implants are a fantastic way to replace missing or broken teeth. But like every good thing, certain precautions, and regimes must be followed. You must follow the tips in this article to keep your fixtures clean and your mouth free from gum diseases. Brushing, flossing, and rinsing your mouth is necessary for healthy oral health post-artificial teeth.