Innovations in dental materials, technology, and techniques mean that dental implants can provide a decades-long solution for missing teeth. With dental implants in Naples, your dentist can replace a single tooth, replace multiple teeth with implant-supported bridges, or even support full sets of dentures that will never slip or slide.
Implants and the restorations that they support in your mouth and anchor into your jaw are not natural materials. They themselves can not be infected. Having said that, someone who has received dental implants from a dentist in Naples can develop an infection in the area of an implant. Thankfully, those infections are preventable if you follow certain simple precautions. If not corrected, though, a serious and advancing infection near the site of an implant can cause the loss of your implant.
Here are four steps to protect yourself from an infection at the site of your implant.
Brush gently
When it comes to brushing, treat your implant-supported restoration just like you would your natural teeth. Brush your tooth, bridge, dentures, or whatever restoration you have gently two times every day. Don’t just brush the tooth, but also brush along your gum line. Brushing will help remove food particles and bacteria from the surface of your restoration and around the margin of your gums. In the days after implant surgery, be especially gentle around the site of your surgery and follow your dentist’s instructions carefully.
Floss daily
Flossing daily will help to remove food particles and bacteria that tend to accumulate in hard-to-reach areas, between teeth, and along and beneath the gum line. If you have problems reaching between and around every tooth, ask your dentist in Naples about alternatives to traditional tooth floss. Water flossers, for example, can help clear away small particles, debris, etc., from hard-to-reach areas.
Don’t smoke
Even before the surgery that begins the process of getting dental implants in Naples, your dentist will explain how dangerous smoking is. Smoking delays your natural healing processes and can introduce bacteria into your mouth. To promote healing and prevent infection, you should stop smoking before you undergo implant surgery and while recovering from surgery.
Even beyond your recovery period, you can boost your immune system, improve your ability to avoid and recover from the infection and increase the likelihood of long-term implant success by quitting smoking. If you’re a smoker considering implant surgery or concerned about the effects of smoking on the success of your implants, ask a dentist near you for help quitting smoking.
Rinse with salt water
After implant surgery, your dentist and their staff will give you detailed instructions about how to ensure a complete and quick recovery without infection. Once 24 hours have passed since your implant surgery, rinse your mouth with warm salted water every two hours. Simply combine a teaspoon of salt and eight ounces of warm water (just warm enough to dissolve the salt), and gently swish that salted water around your mouth, then spit out that water. Rinsing with salt water will help remove particles from your mouth and raise the pH levels in your mouth. That increased pH level will inhibit the growth of bacteria in your mouth and help prevent infection near your implant.
Common symptoms of an infection near a dental implant include a loose implant post, bloody and swollen gums, a discharge of pus from the area of the implant, a foul taste in your mouth, and pain around the area of your implant. If you experience any of these symptoms near an implant site, make an appointment with a dentist in Naples as soon as possible to investigate and take any necessary steps to eliminate the infection. Unchecked, that infection could spread to other tissues in your mouth and beyond, and even cause the loss of your implant. By following these instructions and contacting a dentist at the first sign of any problems, those issues can be prevented.