Dental Implant Care in Oak Harbor, WA

Due to technological advancements in implant dentistry, dental implants are available to more patients than ever before. This stunning tooth replacement option restores the gaps in your smile caused by missing or damaged teeth.

To ensure your new smile restorations last a long time, we recommend following specific oral care guidelines. For your convenience, we’ve created this page of useful information to get the most out of your treatment.

Encouraging Robust Results

Caring for your dental implants is essential for maintaining oral health. By brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing, and visiting Whidbey Dental Associates for your routine checkups, you’re ensuring the longevity of your dental implants.

Generally, dental implants are regarded as the most recommended tooth replacement option available for reasons beyond their aesthetics. Patients love speaking and eating freely without worrying about their replacements shifting around, like with dentures. Dental implants also stimulate healthy jawbone growth which preserves your facial structure.

As long as you follow Dr. Wirth’s care instructions, your dental implants can last you a lifetime.

Use Gentle Products

Dental implants are recognized as having one of the most manageable care regimens. Brushing daily and correctly flossing will ensure your implants last as long as possible.

Furthermore, you can protect them by selecting non-abrasive hygiene products. Choosing soft, neutral products will decrease your risk of scratching the porcelain crown, titanium implant fixture, or the soft gum tissue around the implanted area.

Toothbrush & Toothpaste

When selecting a toothbrush, we recommend finding one that has soft or extra soft bristles. The softer bristles avoid scratching any portion of your implant, only cleaning the plaque and debris from your smile.

Once you’ve secured your toothbrush, you’ll need to choose a toothpaste. At Whidbey Dental Associates, we suggest our patients find a toothpaste that omits abrasive ingredients. Those harmful ingredients include whitening toothpaste as well as any that contain baking soda. Continuously using toothpaste with baking soda can damage your enamel.

Dental Floss

Next, you’ll want to find dental floss. Flossing is a vital form of dental care because of its ability to remove plaque and debris from difficult spots that your toothbrush can’t attain. We encourage our patients to find dental floss that is nylon-coated because it’s designed to glide through your teeth and against your gums. Some companies have created floss specifically for use with dental implants.

Antibacterial Mouthwash

Once you’ve collected the other dental care necessities, it’s time to find some mouthwash. Antibacterial mouthwash can significantly decrease your risk of developing oral diseases, like gum disease. We advise our patients to avoid whitening mouthwash and mouthwash that contains alcohol. Teeth-whitening mouthwash has harsh ingredients that can scratch and damage your implant, while mouthwash with alcohol in it can cause dry mouth. The problem with having a dry mouth is that it eliminates our mouth’s first line of defense, our saliva, which protects against harmful bacteria.