Having a missing tooth (especially at the front of your mouth) isn't exactly ideal. With a missing tooth, you not only tend to look a little disheveled, but you can also lose your inability to chew well. One of the best solutions for a missing tooth is a dental implant.
A unique benefit of dental implants is that they can last an entire lifetime if you take good care of them, but if you don't then they can fail you right away. To ensure that you don't have to have yours replaced anytime soon, there are a few things that you can do.
Quit Smoking
If you are a smoker or tobacco user, your dentist may not even consider you for dental implants. Why? Because smokers have a higher failure rate of them working within the first few months while the gums are healing. Because smoking reduces your body's ability to naturally heal itself after surgery, it can make oral surgeries like dental implants not a good idea to begin with.
If you quit smoking before your implants are placed and then pick it up, later on, it can still have adverse side effects by causing oral infections, periodontal disease, and causing your implant to come loose.
Brush Your Teeth
The most basic thing you can do to take care of your teeth and your dental implant is to brush your teeth both morning and night. When tartar and plaque build up around your implants gum line, it can lead to gingivitis and cause your implant to come loose. By brushing twice a day (at minimum) you can cut down on the probability of developing something like gum disease.
Get Regular Cleanings
You should be getting regular dental cleanings from your dentist every six months. When you have dental implants this is especially important because they will clean around them, inspect them, and they may even take some x-rays of them to ensure that they are in good shape. If they notice that anything looks abnormal or that it needs to be fixed, then they can do it at that appointment or reschedule one for you at a later time.
The great thing about taking care of dental implants is that it's not difficult to do. In fact, it's fairly similar to taking care of the rest of your teeth. To learn more about dental implants, reach out to your dentist today and they can help you out.