Implant care: cleaning and lifestyle features

Congratulations! The implant surgery was a success. The most difficult stage is over. Now it is important to make sure that the titanium post will last for many years. To do this, it is necessary to take proper care of dental implants. It starts immediately after the surgery and continues for the rest of your life.

The good news is that daily implant care is not burdensome. Restrictions and adherence to strict rules are only necessary during the rehabilitation period. After the procedure is completed, the implantologist will issue a memo with recommendations. And it depends on the patient how carefully he will observe them.

How to care for dental implants after installation

The 2 main principles in the postoperative period are: do not panic and stay within easy reach of the doctor.

After the procedure, the doctor will definitely warn about the consequences: swelling, pain and tell you how to minimize them.

General recommendations for implant care after surgery:

• Do not eat before the anesthesia is over
• Apply cold compresses to the surgical area.
• Treat the oral cavity with antiseptic solutions (do not gargle, but take it into the mouth and spit it out gently). You can gargle on the 3rd day with a weak saline solution.
• Take painkillers only when necessary (not beforehand) and not more often than every 4 hours.
• Avoid physical activity on the first day and limit it until complete healing (removal of stitches, if the operation is two-stage).
• Take all prescribed medications. Antibacterial drugs are prescribed to prevent infection. Swelling is reduced by antihistamines. Disinfectants destroy pathogenic microflora in the oral cavity. Vitamins provide the necessary substances for rapid recovery.
• Exclude hot, cold, spicy, acidic foods in the first 2 weeks
• Chew on the side that has not been operated on.
• Purify solid foods (apples, carrots). Completely exclude nuts and seeds.

Hygienic procedures

Stitches, if any, should not be touched with the tongue or, worse, with the hands. Gargles in the first days should be replaced by mouth baths. Antiseptic solution should be held in the mouth for a while and carefully spit out. On the 3rd day you can gently, without sudden movements, rinse the mouth 3-5 times a day with a salt solution (a quarter of a teaspoon per glass of water).

Implantation is not a reason to give up brushing your teeth. It should be done carefully, avoiding the area where the stitches were placed.

After surgery , be sure to change your toothbrush. A lot of bacteria accumulate on the old one.

It is better if the bristles are soft and the toothpaste is anti-inflammatory. About a week after surgery, you can use an irrigator. It not only washes out food particles between the teeth, but also massages the gums, improving blood flow.

Lifestyle after surgery

The life of a modern person is scheduled by minutes. It is important to know in advance what activity can be planned immediately after surgery, and what activities are better to postpone.

In the first week:

• Cancel trips to the sauna, spa wraps, cedar barrel, etc. The same should be done with walranging.
• Choose train or car as transportation. Flying is better to postpone.
• Avoid blowing your nose, blowing your cheeks, if the operation was performed on the upper jaw. Especially if the front teeth are implanted and a sinus elevator was performed.
• Do not use regular mouthwashes, especially if they contain hydrogen peroxide.
• No smoking. The first day is mandatory. After that, preferably. If you can not tolerate it, then every time you need to rinse your mouth with an antibacterial solution. The risk of rejection of implants in smokers is much higher than in non-smokers.
• Eliminate alcohol.

The disinfecting effect of alcohol is not comparable to the harm it can cause. These are: burn of the mucosa, bleeding as a result of sharp dilation of blood vessels, slow healing as a result of irritation of the mucosa.

The first month:

• After a sinus elevator, it is better not to fly for a month, or even more.
• Reduce physical activity. Avoid lifting heavy weights (powerlifting), strenuous training, refuse sparring.
• Exclude solid foods, but gradually expand the diet. From mashed potatoes to more dense foods. By the end of the month, you can restore the diet, but with caution: do not bite off an apple, but cut it into pieces, cook not whole pieces of meat, but dishes from minced meat.
• Still do not consume alcohol. The first month is the most important for the success of implantation. It is better to limit yourself for a certain period of time than to do all the work all over again.

Dental implant care after dentures

Even if you’ve had a full jaw replacement and now all of your teeth are artificial, they need the same care as natural teeth. The main source of infections, plaque, also accumulates on implants. Especially vulnerable is the lower edge, which is adjacent to the gum. Here, bacteria quickly accumulate, first forming a film, and if it mineralizes, tartar. Both provoke mucosal diseases, and any infection can lead to peri-implantitis (inflammation of the tissue around the post). Peri-implantitis reduces the life of the implant and can lead to implant rejection.

Careful hygiene, on the other hand, reduces the risks.

The BASS method of brushing is gaining popularity, where the focus is on the junction of the tooth and gum. This technique uses minimal pressure, gentle movements and a soft brush, but the angle of the brush allows for effective cleaning.

There are many ways to properly clean implants:

• With a regular toothbrush with soft bristles. Medium-hard products can damage the soft tissue around the crown.
• A special brush for the gentle BASS technique. These are TePe, Curaprox, Doctor B brushes.
• Electric toothbrush. When choosing it is worth paying attention to the power, because this is the case when high power is not a priority. You can use an electric toothbrush only after prosthetics, during the period of engraftment, vibrations can prevent the stabilization of the post.

Unfortunately, a toothbrush cannot penetrate a small space. This is where dental brushes and irrigators come to the rescue. They penetrate between the teeth, cleaning out food debris from there. An irrigator is more effective than a dental pick because the water can reach even the micro-cavities.

And in situations where an irrigator is unavailable, you can use implant floss. Regular floss can easily traumatize the gum: there are no nerve endings around the implant that send a signal that it’s time to stop, just like a natural tooth. Flosses for implants are made of other (soft) materials, they gently clean the interdental space and go under the crowns or artificial gum. Your doctor or hygienist will show you how to clean implants with special dental floss.

Hygiene of removable implant dentures

The care of implant dentures depends on whether they are removable or not.

Dentures that can be removed are cleaned 2 times a day with a denture brush. They have bristles on both sides. One, for the outside, has long bristles. The other, for the inside, is short.

Regularly soak the denture in a disinfectant solution to kill bacterial plaque. Products for this purpose are sold at the pharmacy. You can use an ultrasonic bath for cleaning.

Do not forget that no home remedies can not replace professional denture cleaning in the dentist’s office. It should be done every six months. In addition, removable dentures need regular adjustments and relining.

If the denture is fixed with screws, it can also be removed, professionally cleaned and then put back in.

Dangers of improper care

The success of implantation depends on the dentist and the patient. Early complications are mostly caused by the implantologist’s mistakes. Therefore, it is better to choose a clinic where highly qualified doctors work and their work is guaranteed.

The responsibility for the long-term consequences falls on the patient. In the vast majority of cases, complications after implantation occur due to insufficient hygiene.

Pathogenic microflora causes:

• Mucositis. This is an inflammation of the gingival cuff. Caused by bacteria accumulating on the head of the implant. The gum becomes red, swollen, ulcers appear. If left untreated, inflammation from the soft tissues spreads to the hard tissues.
• Peri-implantitis differs from mucositis in that it affects the bone tissue. As a result of the inflammatory process, its density decreases and the post loosens.

^{Example of peri-implantitis on an X-ray image}

Treatment includes excision of the affected tissue, disinfection, anti-inflammatory and physical therapy. In advanced cases, the implant has to be removed.

Following a simple recommendation to thoroughly clean your teeth after implantation will help prevent complications and implant loss.

When to see a doctor

You should make an appointment immediately after surgery if:

• pain does not subside over time;
• there is an increase in temperature, chills;
• the general condition worsens, increasing lethargy, weakness, apathy;
• bleeding does not stop for more than 3 hours or occurs again;
• swelling does not subside, or even increases;
• bad breath appears.

At any time after implantation (even if several years have passed), a doctor should be consulted if:

• The gum is red and swollen;
• it is uncomfortable to move the jaw;
• pain radiates to the temporomandibular joint;
• the post has become mobile;
• there is a feeling that the denture has changed position.

With proper care and compliance with the recommendations, the implant will last a long time, most often a lifetime.