No More Natural Teeth: Deciding Between Implants and Dentures

Common Questions About Avoiding Complications With Your New Dental Implant

by Jeremiah Barnett

Dental implants are considered one of the most effective and durable methods of correcting the problems caused by tooth loss. However, these dental prosthetics are highly complex devices, and most patients lack the experience to fully understand what to expect after they receive an implant. Luckily, learning the answers to these two basic questions will help you better understand what you need to do to ensure your implant looks and feels great for years to come.

What Happens If You Do Not Properly Clean The Implant Site?

Following the placement of the implant, you will have several weeks of healing. This time is needed to allow the implant to fuse to the bone in the jaw, but some patients may make the critical mistake of failing to follow their dentist's cleaning instructions.

Installing a dental implant is a surgical procedure, and this can expose your mouth to a higher risk of developing an infection. If this happens, it is possible for the implant to fail to properly bond with the bone, and this can drastically shorten its lifespan. Yet, the simple act of following your dentist's care instruction can drastically reduce the odds of you encountering this problem with your implant.

Are There Any Foods That You Will Need To Avoid With Your New Implant?

After the implant has healed, it is important to note that there are some foods and eating habits that you should generally avoid. As a rule, you should avoid consuming hard candies, ice chips and any other food that is extremely difficult for you to chew. The force required to chew these foods can cause the implant to come loose, and this may require an emergency trip to the dentist to avoid losing the implant.

If you are unfortunate enough to damage your implant on hard foods, you should gently rinse the mouth with water to remove any food particles. These particles can become stuck around the base of the damaged implant which may make repairs more difficult. If you start to experience swelling, you should apply a cold compress to get this under control. Swelling can exacerbate the problem by putting more pressure on the implant, but the ice pack will help mitigate this problem.

A dental implant can be the most effective way of repairing missing teeth, but this is a procedure that is often misunderstood by patients. By learning these common implant questions and answers, you will be better prepared for what to expect after you have received your implant.

Share