Home Care Instructions(1)

Implants may require more home care than your natural teeth.

They need to be cleaned around every twelve hours to remove plaque and tartar to avoid gum disease. It is important you know the locations where your implants are located in your mouth. It will help you maintain good home care.

You may wonder what kind of procedures are necessary for the proper maintenance of your new prosthesis. The home care needed for dental implants is more important than that for natural teeth. Implants are wonders of engineering, but they are not designed to be maintenance free. There are many areas around the implants and the prosthesis that need special attention to make sure dental plaque does not accumulate. As with your own teeth, plaque, a sticky substance that adheres to teeth and is a breeding area for bacteria, must be removed every 12 hour for avoiding potential periodontal ( peri-implant ) disease. What are the tools needed to combat peri-implant disease and how should they be implemented.

Care of implant prosthesis consists of 3 steps:
1. Training yourself about proper oral hygiene techniques.
2. Removal of plaque and calculus (tartar) on a regularly scheduled basis by your Hygienist.
3. Maintaining meticulous oral hygiene between your recall visits.

Home plaque control is very important for your implant care. The following devices have proved extremely helpful in plaque removal and as tools in the proper maintenance of dental implant/prostheses.
- soft toothbrush
- dental floss
- oral irrigation devices
- mouthwashes containing essential oils

Check the detail for brushing, flossing, and rinsing at the next chapter.