Clean and Maintain Dental Implants
Dental implants are small but powerful tooth replacement systems that can replace anywhere from a single tooth to a whole mouth full of teeth. First created and introduced in the 1960s, dental implant technology has come a long way. Now fully customizable and capable of supporting single prosthetic crowns, bridges, and implant-supported dentures – all of which can be either permanent or removable – dental implants can solve all kinds of problems for those with missing teeth they would like to replace. In return, all they require is some simple maintenance to keep them looking like new and working as they should.
Component Parts of Dental Implants
Dental implants can be made from either titanium or zirconia and are typically composed of two to three pieces. These include the dental fixture: a small post that is embedded in the jaw and remains out of sight below the gumline; the abutment, the small connecting piece that makes contact with the implants fixture and extends slightly above the gumline; and the prosthesis, which can be a single crown, bridge, or denture.
In contrast to this standard three-piece titanium system, zirconia implants are often composed of just two pieces, with the dental implant and the abutment fused together in one single piece.
Cleaning Dental Implants
Although dental implants and the prosthetic teeth they support look just like one’s natural teeth, cleaning them is a little different. First of all, the materials that make up dental implants – whether titanium or zirconia – are different than that of organic teeth. Second, and more importantly, the connective tissues and ligaments that surround one’s natural teeth benefit from constant blood flow, which increases as needed to fend off infections that arise. Absent those connections with connective tissues and ligaments, the tissues that surround dental implants are simply not able to fight off infection nearly as effectively.
If infection is allowed to set in, this could threaten the very integrity of the dental implant. In contrast to the slow speed with which infection can lead to the loss of natural teeth, infections surrounding dental implants can relatively quickly lead to failure of the implant itself, so avoiding and/or treating these infections immediately is of paramount importance.
Tools Used in the Cleaning of Dental Implants
Keeping your dental implants clean and free from bacteria is an important part of ensuring their long-term success. In addition to regular oral care at home, it is extremely important to keep up with regular visits to your dentist’s office so that your implants can be checked and cleaned.
Because dental implants and the crowns and appliances they support vary in composition from the organic hard tissues of one’s natural teeth, the tools that your dental hygienist uses to clean them in your dentist’s office are also different.
In many ways, the tools used to clean dental implants are similar to those used to clean natural teeth, with the exception that scalers and curettes – the thin scraping tools used to remove plaque – are composed of plastics so as not to create scratches in the dental implants during cleaning. While natural teeth can be cleaned with metal instruments and not sustain scratches, the materials that compose dental implants can be scratched by metals, and any scratches sustained can then attract harmful bacteria.
Ultrasonic tools that break up chunks or tartar via mechanical vibration can also be used, as they are on natural teeth, but they, too, are used with plastic covers in place so as not to scratch or otherwise damage the implants.