How To Care For New Dental Implants

Getting a dental implant is a lot more straightforward than many people think. The procedure itself is relatively quick, but patients can expect several months of healing before the permanent restoration can be attached to the implant to finish the procedure.

It can take between 4-6 months for a dental implant to fully heal, and during this time it’s important to keep up with your oral hygiene to ensure the site is healing properly. Here are a few great tips to care for your new dental implant:

1. What To Do Right After Getting Dental Implants

It’s common during the first week of healing to experience a bit of swelling, tenderness, and even see traces of blood around the implants. Usually, all these symptoms subside in the first few days, and by week two you should not feel any more discomfort.

Here’s how to care for your implant right after the procedure from our Colorado Springs practice:

• Chew on the other side of your mouth
• Eat softer foods that don’t require lots of chewing
• Avoid brushing your teeth in the first 24h, and rinse gently with saline water instead
  

2. Change Your Toothbrush

If your toothbrush has hard bristles replace it with a soft-bristled one, especially while your dental implant is healing. Soft-bristle toothbrushes are much more gentle on your teeth, while still allowing you to properly clean your mouth!

3. Don’t Skip Flossing

Flossing helps you remove the food particles and bacteria between your teeth that brushing cannot. It’s important to be diligent with your oral hygiene while healing from a dental implant, as food particles can attract bacteria and delay your healing, even leading to unwanted complications. 

4. Change Your Diet and Lifestyle

If you routinely indulge in hard and sticky foods, you should try to limit them while your implant is healing, as they can damage the site and delay healing. These foods can include sweets such as caramel, hard candies, and savory snacks like crackers or potato chips.

Additionally, two major lifestyle factors shown to impact dental implant healing are smoking and drinking alcohol. Specialists recommend abstaining from both these habits throughout the dental implant healing timeline to avoid unwanted complications. 

5. See Your Colorado Springs Dentist Regularly

Six months is a long time, and to make sure your dental implant is healing nicely it's best to book a few checkups with your dentist throughout the healing process. They can offer you more personalized tips on how to properly care for your dental implant. 

Wondering If Dental Implants Are Right for You? Alliance Family Dentistry Can Help

If you have missing teeth and are thinking about getting dental implants, we at Alliance Family Dentistry can help you make the right choice for your long-term dental health. Schedule a consultation with a dentist in Colorado Springs today!