Implant Maintenance: How To Clean Dental Implants Properly

Are you wondering how to clean your dental implants? If you currently have dental implants or are contemplating scheduling an initial consultation with a dental implant expert, consider this – when it comes to your oral health, cleaning your dental implants is just as important as brushing and flossing your natural teeth. Many people are surprised to learn that they actually have been cleaning their teeth the wrong way for years, let alone their dental implants. We often hear,” I have always done it this way.” Cleaning teeth and dental implants incorrectly may lead to additional oral health problems. In this blog post, we will teach you how to clean your dental implants correctly so you will protect both your teeth and dental implants and reap the benefits for many years to come.

How to Clean Your Dental Implants

Many believe that once they have a dental implant, they do not have to worry as much about their oral health. Implants are, however, susceptible to bone loss if they are not maintained properly. This can lead to infections of the area around the implant and potentially even implant loss.

So what exactly is the proper way to clean them?

Master the right brushing method.

It’s common to brush your teeth in a back-and-forth motion, similar to sawing back and forth until you feel like your teeth are clean and slippery. This is the wrong way to brush your teeth.

This motion causes several issues:

It scrubs away tooth enamel. This makes teeth sensitive to hot and cold liquids and food much sooner than usual. Soft bristles cause little damage to your gums and remove tartar and plaque, then medium or hard bristles. Electric toothbrushes have been used to prevent and remove bacteria from teeth. Manual toothbrushes produce a more significant number of brush strokes than a human hand. Whether you use a manual or electric brush, keep in mind that its bristles should be soft.
It’s very abrasive to your teeth and gums. Over-brushing can increase your chances of developing cavities and receding gums. After waking up, brushing eliminates morning breath and removes bacteria in the mouth overnight. Brushing before bed removes bacteria that build up throughout the day, reducing the risk of plaque buildup and decay overnight.
It does not clean effectively. Since the bristles are moving back and forth, they are essentially bouncing from one tooth to the next, which causes you to miss the spaces between the teeth to remove plaque and other tiny particles of food. People who lack abrasive elements should use toothpaste that uses baking soda and stain-removing agents. These materials can wear on acrylic and remove the glaze from porcelain implant-supported dentures.

Whether you have done your dental implant surgery here or abroad, bacteria and plaque may accumulate below and around the implant-supported dentures crown, increasing the risk for peri-implantitis. To access these areas, use an angle-necked toothbrush or an inter-brush with a thin head. The right way is to start by placing your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to where the teeth meet the gums. Then gently move your toothbrush back and forth, making sure the bristles cover each tooth and work their way around the sides of the tooth. This method allows you to find all the food particles and plaque in the spaces between your teeth and dental implants.

It’s not easy to relearn brushing after using one method. Switching over to a new method will take some getting used to, but the results will speak for themselves.

Don’t forget to floss

It is critical to first ask your dentist or dental hygienist the step-by-step process to floss around your dental implant.

Specialised floss. Crown and bridge floss are specifically designed to scrub under and around dental implant dentistry. Rigid ends enable you to insert the floss between dental implants on the gumline and pull it to the other side. You can then bend it against the surface of the implant-supported denture and rub it on the side.

Water flosser. Since it can be more difficult to floss implants, dentists prescribe patients a water flosser, such as a Waterpik. Using a water flosser is essential for maintaining gum health and proactively protecting the soft tissue surrounding the dental implant. There are also various types of products you may use, depending on the specific clinical situation. You don’t want to miss this step, so ask your doctor about the best way to floss and let him or her know of any challenges you face.

Cleaning All-on-4 Implants

All-on-4 dental implants are made of the same materials as single implants and must be cared for in the same way using a soft-bristled toothbrush and water flosser and brushing at least twice per day using nonabrasive toothpaste. These implants comprise one full arch of top or bottom teeth in four separate implants. Therefore, extra attention must be paid to removing food debris stuck between the bridge and the gum line.

In all-on-4 dental implant dentistry, Australian or overseas/foreign patients must follow the same steps to clean a single-tooth implant. But only a few more steps have to be added, which are further explained below:

Use A Rubber-Tip Stimulator

Water flossers come with rubber-tip steelers that gently remove food particles trapped between the bridge and the gum line. Use this attachment on your water flosser at least once daily to remove food debris and bacteria from all-on-4.

Use A Sulcus Brush

A sulcus brush is about one-third of a regular toothbrush width and is useful in cleaning the part of the bridge that transitions into soft tissue.

The Importance of Effective Daily Care

The importance of cleaning properly is often overlooked, but it is an important part of keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

Aside from saving money in preventing dental implant failure, using the right method to brush your teeth will prevent harmful plaque buildup, which can lead to many oral health problems. Brushing properly will prevent:

Gingivitis: a gum disease that develops when there is plaque beneath the gum line and separates the teeth from the gums
Peri-implantitis: a destructive process that leads to implant loss where the soft tissue surrounding the dental implant becomes inflamed and the hard tissue (alveolar bone), which surrounds the implant for retention purposes, is lost over time
Cavities: permanent damages in the form of a tiny hold on the hard surface of the teeth
Tooth Decay: damage that occurs when bacteria in your mouth make acids that eat away at a tooth

How to Find a Dental Implant Expert

Learning the proper care for your dental implants and remaining natural teeth will help you maintain your teeth for years and restore your confidence and beautiful smile. This needs to be done by seeing a highly qualified and experienced implant dentist twice a year and sometimes more, depending on your specific dental needs.

Cleaning and caring for dental implants are keys to prolonging their appearance and functionality. Failing to properly care for your dental implants can increase the risk for peri-implantitis—an inflammatory condition that affects the soft and hard tissues surrounding implants. When left unaddressed, peri-implantitis can lead to the loss of bone and the dental implant. However, cleaning your dental implants regularly can help you minimise your risk for peri-implantitis and maintain a bright, healthy, and attractive smile for years to come.