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Terry L. Eggleston, DDS
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Care
for your Dentures and Partials
- Wear your dentures or partials during the day, take out at night
- Be careful not to drop or scratch - fragile
- Brush dentures with liquid soap or denture dentifrice. No toothpaste
- Store dentures or partials in clean water when not wearing
- Use a soft toothbrush to clean gums and tongue
Printable complete denture and partial care instructions
Care
for your Implants
Home Care
As
with natural teeth, the patient must care for their implant supported
restorations on a daily basis. The goal is to remove the daily accumulation
of plaque which can form on implants as well as on natural teeth. We recommend
that patients clean their implants at least once a day. Here are some
helpful tips:
- Brushing: Use a soft brush and massage the gums around the implant post, using a circular stroke. Colgate Total toothpaste is recommended because of the presence of glycosan, which has been shown to reduce the bacteria known to cause gum disease. Gum disease can and does occur around implants just as it does with natural teeth.
- Flossing: A wide floss such as Superfloss of Glide is good for implants. Common household yarn can also be used. Be sure and move the floss up and down the implant post as well as using a 'buffing' action.
- Proxabrush: This is a 'Christmas Tree' shaped device which fits into the end of a handle. The soft tufts are supported by a small metal shaft. A Proxabrush is very helpful at removing plaque because of its ease of use and its ability to reach into some areas that even floss or a brush can't get to. It is best to touch the implants with the tufts only and try to avoid touching the posts with the metal shaft.
- Soft brushes, floss, Total, and proxabrushes are all available at any drug store.
- Your dentist
may recommend a daily rinse of chlorhexidine. PerioGuard and Peridex
are common rinses. Chlorhexidine is available by prescription only.
Simply follow the directions on the bottle.
Professional Care
Regular
visits to your dentist are necessary in order to maintain healthy implants.
In the
case of a denture supported by a bar, the bar should be removed at regular
intervals, the implants cleaned and checked, and the bar replaced. We
usually start our patients on a three month cleaning interval, and then
adjust as indicated.
In the
case of single implant supported crowns, we recommend the same cleaning
interval as the remaining natural teeth. The dentist will use plastic
cleaning instruments(scalers) on all implant supported crowns. Metal instruments
may leave small scratches that can attract plaque.
We recommend
that radiographs (x-rays) be made of implant supported restorations after
the first year of use. This is done to assess the bone levels and general
health of the implant(s).
Printable complete implant FAQ's