What You Should Know About Dental Implant Infections
Are you thinking about undergoing dental implants in Richmond? If so it’s important to note that the responsibility for the long-term maintenance of implants doesn’t just rest with the hygienist or dentist. Ultimately the buck stops with you, the patient. For a dental implant to function well it needs to be kept free from bacteria and plaque and therefore this means maintaining very high standards of oral hygiene for the foreseeable future. This is why implant clinics spend a great deal of time making sure that the patient is fully ‘on board’ with what needs to be done to ensure life-long dental implants.
So what do they suggest?
Routine clinic revisits
More often than not, implant problems aren’t painful unless they become serious and what’s more, they aren’t always noticeable to the untrained eye. For this reason, the need for patients to attend regular visits to the clinic can’t be emphasised enough. The dentist along with the hygienist will be able to monitor progress over a period of time and as a result should be able to spot any minor oral issues or problems before they become major ones. The hygienist will also be able to play their part in making sure the patient’s teeth remain free from food particles and plaque build up.
So why might there be issues?
In essence every time you eat food, particles tend to collect around the implant area. This is a common occurrence. If you fail to remove them by brushing, flossing, and rinsing they can build up. When this happens they can ultimately attack the gum surrounding the implant itself causing the area to become inflamed.
How best to treat it.
As with any surgical treatment a dental implant in Richmond doesn’t come without risk and gum inflammation is a symptom of failing to carry out correct oral hygiene. That said, it’s often easily treatable if caught early. Firstly the area will need to be cleaned and irrigated using disinfecting solutions and secondly if the implant and surrounding bone are still solid, then a course of antibiotics will be given to make sure the infection doesn’t return.
Conversely, if the inflammation has caused more severe problems such as peri-implantitis, then the implant may well have to be removed, a new bone graft completed, and the implant replaced. This is clearly going to set you back in both time and money.
By and large, dental implant infections are avoidable simply by committing to keeping them free from bacteria. This is why much emphasis is placed on oral hygiene.
If you want to find out more about dental implants in Richmond and how to care for them then why not visit our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk where you can find a wealth of information. Alternatively if you’d like to speak to the team here at Sheen Dental about what implants can do for you, then contact us on 020 8876 5277 and book yourself a free, no-obligation consultation today.