Did you know that your jawbone thins after tooth loss? Your roots stimulate new bone growth every time you bite down, which keeps it strong. When they go missing, you can lose up to 25% of the surrounding bone mass within the first year. This can lead to sunken cheeks, facial wrinkles, and additional tooth loss.
Dental implants are the only replacements that involve surgically placing titanium rods to function as roots to prevent this. They’re also resilient and can potentially last decades, but that doesn’t make them invincible. Read on to learn 3 things to avoid that could hurt them!
Habit #1: Smoking Cigarettes
It can take your mouth anywhere from 3 to 6+ months to heal after implant placement because your jaw must generate enough new bone material to fuse with the metal support rod in a process called osseointegration. Unfortunately, smoking cigarettes hinders your healing process and can contribute to failure.
This is because cigarettes, vapes, and other tobacco products contain nicotine, which is a vasoconstrictor. It limits your blood oxygen levels and flow so your body can’t deliver essential nutrients to your teeth and gums. At the same time, it suppresses your immune system and increases the chances of infection and disease, like peri-implantitis, the leading cause of failure.
Habit #2: Grinding Your Teeth
These prosthetics are typically more resilient than alternatives like dentures or dental bridges because they can function as sturdy, standalone structures in your mouth. However, if you suffer from bruxism, or chronic teeth grinding, you might harm them.
People with this condition subconsciously clench their teeth together at night, putting extra pressure on them. This can erode the bone and connective tissues holding the titanium rod of your new tooth in place, or even crack the crown portion above your gumline. Thankfully, your dentist can provide a custom-fitted nightguard to shield your smile from the physical force of constantly biting down.
Habit #3: Drinking Alcohol
If you’re looking forward to enjoying an adult beverage after dental implant placement, you likely will need to adjust your expectations. Alcohol isn’t recommended during recovery because it interferes with your body’s ability to mend itself. It prevents your body from performing essential tasks correctly, like blood clotting, immune function, and tissue regeneration.
Then, once you’ve healed, alcohol unfortunately can also dissolve the cement holding your tooth-shaped restoration to your implant. It’s best to avoid it or enjoy it in moderation moving forward.
Your dentist will provide other post-op instructions; following them in detail is the best way to recover effectively without developing complications!
About the Practice
At Rausch Family Dentistry, you and your loved ones benefit from a team of dentists dedicated to helping you build and maintain happy, healthy smiles. They have 25+ years of combined experience providing a comprehensive menu of services to meet all your needs at one convenient location to people of all ages. Plus, they have specialized training and state-of-the-art equipment to place and restore your dental implants in the office to streamline your experience. You can request an appointment on the website or call (770) 931-3388.
