4 Ways to Help Your Dental Implants Last

True enough, dental implants are highly effective as replacement teeth. It’s to the point that their success rate after ten years is over 95%! Still, these restorations can and do fail under certain conditions. You’ll thus need to look after them to ensure they stay functional. Thankfully, you can adopt various ways that help dental implants last. Your Huntington Beach dentist can even teach you a few. To that end, here are some habits to try so your implants have a long lifespan.

Maintain Good Oral Hygiene

Implants can’t actually get cavities; they’re made of artificial materials instead of enamel. However, you should still brush them twice daily and floss between them once daily.

You see, implants depend on your surrounding teeth and gums. These latter things need to be healthy for the prosthetics to stay steady. Otherwise, an issue like gum disease will cause your implant(s) to loosen and lack support. The restoration could then fail and require a replacement.

Quit Bad Oral Habits

Another way to help implants last is to quit bad oral habits. After all, these latter actions can put your restorations at serious risk.

Take smoking, for example. Tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars cause gum disease, which slows your body’s recovery from implant surgery. Therefore, you should give them up before they cause your implants to fail.

You’d also be wise to stop chewing on hard objects. Whether it’s ice or your fingernails, biting on these things can damage or chip your implants. Should that happen, the prosthetics could become unstable and fail soon after.

Wear a Nightguard or Mouthguard

Implants are durable, but they’re not invincible. They can and will fail if they receive enough force. So, you may want to start wearing a nightguard or mouthguard.

With a nightguard, you could prevent nighttime tooth grinding. This effect would keep you from wearing down your implant’s crown. At the same time, it would help you avoid TMJ/TMD issues.

On the other hand, a mouthguard for sports is just as beneficial. It’d protect all your teeth – implants included – from falls and player collisions. From there, the risk of implant failure would greatly diminish.

The various ways that help dental implants last aren’t tricky. They’ll ensure your implants stick around for many years with just a little effort!

About the Practice

Huntington Beach Periodontics & Dental Implants is based in Huntington Beach, CA. Led by Dr. Justin Barga, our practice specializes in gum treatment and tooth replacement. We thus offer periodontal therapy, dental implants, regenerative dentistry, and cosmetic periodontics. At the same time, our office is trained in sedation work that helps patients with dental anxiety. If you want more information or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (714)-587-9094.