The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Tooth

Your teeth make up a big part of your appearance, in addition to contributing to your oral and overall health, facial structure, and self-esteem. When your teeth have begun to decay and it leads to tooth loss, it can be a big detriment to your appearance and your overall happiness. Dental implants can restore your teeth and your smile, but it is important to prepare for them appropriately. Here are some recommendations to take care of before your teeth are restored with dental implants to ensure the best success.

Manage Your Smoking

When you are preparing for dental implant surgery it is essential that you take steps to make sure your gums and jawbones heal properly. A dental implant is placed into your jawbone where it will fuse with the bone and the gums will grow around it. In order for this to happen, you need to be careful if you are a smoker. Smoking can limit your body's ability to heal, and after dental implant surgery, healing is essential to the implants being successful.

If you are a smoker it is best if you can stop smoking completely, or stop smoking a week before your surgery. Then, after your surgery, do all you can to abstain from smoking for at least a couple of months. The longer you can do so, the more increased your implant's chances of long-term success will be.

Check and Treat For Gum Disease

Before your implant surgery, your dentist or surgeon will check your oral health to make sure it is free of any infections. If your gums contain any infection it won't allow your implant to heal properly, so your dental professional will treat your gums to get rid of the infection.

The treatment for your gum disease can be an easy or a longer process, depending on the extent of the disease. For example, if the gum disease is minimal, with regular self-cleanings you can eliminate it completely. For more severe cases your dentist will prescribe an antibiotic and provide you an antibacterial or antibiotic to help remove the infection. Or they might need to perform surgery to restore your oral health and eliminate the infected tissues.

After you have your dental implant surgery, it is also important that you keep up on your oral health. Good oral health before and after are key for your implants to heal and gum disease after your surgery can lead to problems with the healing process. Brush at least twice a day and floss daily to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy. Then, follow up your daily regime with checkups with your dentist and routine cleaning exams.

For more information about dental implant restoration, contact a local dentist or learn more here.