As you already know from learning a bit about dental implants, you can do things to help them last forever and ever! That is, you can take good care of them. Unfortunately, you may think that you’re taking care of them and that you’re doing a wonderful job because you’re brushing and flossing and you think your smile is in great shape! However, if you’re taking part in other activities that are high risk factors for your implants, you may be guiding them more quickly toward failure than success. Let’s talk about things you should avoid!
Tobacco
One of the big risk factors associated with protecting your dental implants or leading them away from success is the use of tobacco. While it’s entirely possible to use tobacco without implant failure, there’s still the very real truth that when you use it, the chance of implant failure increases. Better to avoid it!
Pressure
Pressure is often overlooked yet a serious potential problem for your dental implants. Normal daily chewing is not a problem. However, consistent pressure from things like bruxism or excessive snacking to extreme pressure from eating very hard foods can promote failure. Simply practice caution!
Assumptions
So, about that exceptional dental care you’ve been providing for yourself: How great is it? Before you make assumptions about your smile, make sure you’re running things by us! We can tell you whether your smile is actually healthy or if you need to brush or floss better. When your dental hygiene isn’t on point, you may end up allowing peri-implantitis (similar to gingivitis around your dental implant) to form, thus leading to failure. Keep your smile healthy by asking us: How am I doing?
Protect Your Implant Health With Our Care
Do all that you can to promote the success of your implants by taking care of them according to our guidelines for success. James Stewart, DDS, and our team serve patients from Livonia, MI, as well as Farmington Hills, Farmington, Plymouth, Northville, Novi, Dearborn Heights, Dearborn, Garden City, Westland, Redford, and the surrounding communities. To schedule a consultation, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.