Dental implants are designed to remain fixed in your mouth. However, in some cases an implant becomes loose or falls out. This article will discuss what you can do take care of your implants and what to do if one comes loose.
How to Care for Your Implants
Your dental crown is attached to a metal part that is placed below your gum line. In the best cases, this metal part becomes anchored to your jaw bone. If you have healthy bones, you increase your chances of having a successful implant surgery and keeping your implant sturdily attached inside your mouth.
As people age, they tend to lose bone mass. If you’re elderly, you may lack the strong bones necessary to support implants. This might make the surgery impossible to complete, or it could jeopardize the success rate. Elderly people who have weaker bones might be instructed to take vitamin supplements or try other therapies. Treating brittle bones or gum disease properly can improve a patient’s chances of having a successful dental implant surgery.
Apart from having strong bones, there are other things you can do to care for your implant. For starters, you should avoid foods that might damage your implants. Biting down on hard foods could put too much pressure on an implant. When you eat sticky foods, those food particles become attached to implants and can be hard to brush off. Foods like popcorn or nuts can also get stuck between teeth and irritate your dental implants. Hard foods and sticky foods might make your implant shift or move, which is not ideal.
Care for your implants as you would your natural teeth. Brush and floss daily. Do not forget to schedule regular dental office visits 1-2 times per year. Keeping your mouth healthy will also improve your chances of having your implants remain sturdily fixed in your mouth. For instance, if you develop periodontal disease, your gums will weaken. Weak gums cannot generally support dental implants or even natural teeth.
To avoid periodontal disease, you should brush and floss daily and visit your dentist for regular check-ups. Professional tooth cleaning is also recommended. Be sure to call your dentist if you experience pain that doesn’t subside after your implant surgery.
What to Do If an Implant Comes Out
Most implant surgeries are successful. However, in some cases an implant may move or fall out. If your dental implant fell out, schedule an appointment with your dentist immediately.
In many cases, your implant can be re-inserted. In some cases, only the dental crown comes off, which isn’t generally a serious problem. If only the crown comes loose, in most cases it can be screwed down again. Sometimes an abutment is damaged. The abutment is the metal part that anchors the crown to the other structure beneath the gums. In most cases, the abutment can also be replaced.
If the implant is moving below the gum line, this could be caused by a loss of bone mass or by periodontal disease. If periodontal disease is discovered early, then it can be treated with improved oral hygiene and antibiotic treatments. If a patient is able to reverse periodontal disease in its early stages, then he or she might still have the chance to have the implant re-inserted.
However, the only way to know what can be done about an implant is to have an oral exam. If your dental implant fell out, you should call your dentist. The dentist will take x-rays and determine the reason why the implant has come out. The dentist will then discuss your options concerning how to treat the problem. In cases where an implant cannot be re-inserted, the dentist will usually provide you with alternatives.
