Keeping Your Teeth White Between Dental Visits

If you are missing one or more teeth, you are surely already aware of the difficulties associated with that common problem. Although current statistics show that up to 98% of dental implants do not fail, it is important to know what you can do to sway the odds in your favor. As a result, it is a good idea to consider the following information in the weeks and months leading up to your surgery.

#1-Quit Smoking

Just in case you need another reason to quit smoking, one recent study has established terrifying statistics. That study established an average of a 15.8% failure rate for smokers, in the first five years after receiving dental implants. It is commonly believed by experts in the field that since smoking increases the probability of periodontal disease, various types of cancer and a less than hygienic mouth, dental implants placed into the mouth of a smoker are more likely to fail. It is also important to point out that wounds in the mouth or gums, even surgical ones, take longer to heal for a smoker than they would for a non-smoker.

#2-Use A Night Guard To Prevent Teeth Grinding

Although grinding your teeth is an unfortunate habit at any time, since it places extra stress on your natural teeth, it can be even worse after dental implants in multiple ways. Specifically, immediately after you have the titanium rod placed into your gums, quick healing is essential. Unfortunately, adequate and timely healing of your gums can be compromised as the result of excess pressure.

However, simply choosing a night guard is not the best option. Instead, you should plan to speak with your dentist or oral surgeon about having a night guard made to your exact needs, so that you can be sure to protect your mouth as much as possible. Even after the titanium rod has integrated with your jaw and the teeth have been attached to it, you will still want to avoid grinding your teeth.

#3- Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control

As a diabetic, you are at higher risk of several different problems. For many years, dentists often hesitated to provide dental implants to diabetics, particularly if insufficient control of blood glucose levels is a problem. In general, since wounds often heal slowly for diabetics, dental implants were thought to frequently be an unnecessary risk.

Fortunately, new research has determined that it is still safe for diabetics to get dental implants. In order to make it as low-risk as possible and improve success rates, you should speak with both your dentist (like Davis R Troup DDS PA) and doctor about how you can maintain better control of your blood sugar levels.  One study resulted in longer periods of time between the implantation of the rod and attachment of the new teeth, which was helpful for many diabetics.

In conclusion, dental implants are an ideal way to restore a beautiful, healthy smile for most individuals, regardless of how many teeth are missing. Therefore, it will be helpful to follow the above tips while you are preparing for this important procedure.