Dental posts are made from two main components: a titanium root and a porcelain crown. If you have received a dental post, also known as an implant, you might think that based on this description, your implant is impervious to tooth decay. You would be wrong. A dental implant can still fail, so it is critical to take care of your implant so that you can enjoy it for years to come.
The Lifespan of an Implant
The titanium root portion of a dental implant is anchored right to the bone. The porcelain crown is then attached to the root with dental cement. These components can last for decades, so if you have an implant, you don't have to worry about the post itself failing. Instead, you have to worry about the gums and bone around it rotting and failing. Thus, even if you replace all of your teeth with implants, proper oral hygiene is still of utmost importance.
At-Home Care
You do not have to worry that plaque will eat away at your porcelain crown, so you might think that you can skip brushing and flossing every once in a while without consequences. You might not have to worry about porcelain or titanium rotting, but you still have to worry about gum disease. If your gums get infected or start to recede, they can cause your crown to get lose and fail. Thus, you still need to brush and floss everyday to make sure that your gums stay healthy.
At-the-Office Care
When you go into the dentist's office, your work is not done. Dental implants require special care at the dentist's office just like they do at home. The biggest thing to remember is to advise your hygienists that you have an implant so that they can choose the right tools. Metal tools can scratch the titanium root, and these scratches can allow bacteria to get down under gums and cause infection. Plastic tools will bend before they scratch your root, so they are the right choice for an implant.
Anchoring a titanium post to your jawbone can be a painful, expensive procedure, but it is worth it. An implant will look and behave like a natural tooth. Thus, if you have a prosthetic tooth, your focus should be on making sure your replacement tooth is successful so that you don't have to go through he whole procedure again if your implant fails.
Share29 December 2016
The average dentist takes many client appointments each day and also deals with emergency situations on a regular basis. Dental emergencies are very common because people are likely to put off having tooth pain fixed until the pain becomes unbearable. Some people have anxiety about dental visits, and others are trying to avoid the expense of dental care. In either case, the end result is often a dental emergency. I have worked as a professional dental hygienist for many years and have seen all types of dental emergencies. I hope that this blog will help people identify potential emergencies before they become too serious and will allow people to know when to get help.
