The Importance of Looking After Dental Implants Townsville Dentist

DENTAL implants are the latest dental innovation to have drastically improved the quality of life for many people. Working as a substitute for a root, these implants can create a new, permanent fake tooth or crown. With people quick on the uptake, experts fear that improper implant care could lead to many problems down the road. With implant procedures currently running at around £1000 per tooth, that’s a lot of money to throw away due to poor maintenance.

The popularity and availability of implants has grown dramatically over the past few years, but they have been around for over three decades now. The surge in implant procedures has brought with it a rise in ‘peri-implantitis’, a bacterial infection around the area of the implant. This inflammation, if left untreated, can cause some nasty consequences. In severe cases, it can lead to bone loss in the jaw.

Proper maintenance and care for implants is the key to bringing these cases of peri-implantitis down. Dr. Alani, a dental consultant at King’s College London, is pushing for people to get the education they require before their implant procedure. He said: ‘The majority of cases are successful as long as patients are told how to care for their new teeth. Most importantly, we want them to quit smoking and improve their oral hygiene.’

Dr. Alani suggests to couple this improved oral hygiene with regular visits to the dentist to make sure everything is on track. Dr. Alani outlines three demographics susceptible to inflammation after an implant procedure. People who don’t clean their teeth regularly, smokers and people already suffering from gum disease.

If vulnerable patients don’t care for their implants, they are far more likely to suffer the consequences. In some cases, this can cause infection around the jaw bone as well as the implant itself. Once this happens, there may be too much bone loss to try to perform another implant procedure. The real takeaway from all of this is that implants are just like teeth. Without proper daily maintenance, they are prone to inflammation, infection and a lot of trouble down the road. So, if you’re getting an implant or already have one, heed these steps. Be sure to keep in regular touch with your dentist, clean your implant daily and if there is any inflammation go get it looked at.