After you’ve received a dental implant, it’s still important to practice regular oral hygiene within the area in an effort to provide longevity to your implant and keep your adjacent teeth safe from damage or decay. At Island Dental Associates, we want to keep all of our Long Island area patients informed when it comes to great oral care, and this includes caring for your new implant.

What is most important to remember is you should always treat your implant as you would your natural teeth, and this is with gentle and diligent care. When it comes to caring for your implant, the steps you should be taking are:

• Regular brushing – Make sure to brush the implant area gently and with an extra soft bristled toothbrush. When you’re brushing your natural teeth, you’ll typically remain gentle in an effort to not scratch or damage the teeth, and this same care should be taken with an implant as well. Brushing at least twice per day, or once after each meal, is ideal, and you should make sure to not skip over the implant area.

• Flossing – After brushing, the implant area should also be flossed as you would floss your natural teeth. Flossing the region can help to dislodge any stuck plaque or food particles, which in turn can save your adjacent natural teeth and gums. When flossing around the implant, make sure to take care and remain gentle so you don’t damage your crown!

• Mouthwash – If you like to use mouthwash as part of your dental routine, you can continue with your dental implant. The benefits of mouthwash won’t harm the implant, and you can swish around the area just as you would the regions with natural teeth.

Staying diligent with your gentle care is important to your teeth, and it’s also important to your dental implant as well. Whether you’ve received a single implant, or multiple implants, making sure to keep up with your regular oral hygiene processes is important, and something that we at Island Dental Associates highly recommend. If you’d like to learn more about caring for your new dental implant, we suggest you call us today to set up a visit with our dental professionals!