How to Protect Your Teeth

Have Dry Mouth? Tips For Plaque Buildup Prevention Around Dental Implants

Your dental implant may be a fake tooth, but it is just as important to keep it clean and free of plaque around the gums. Unfortunately, plaque easily affects people with dry mouth, which can happen more frequently as you age and the need for dental implants arises.

This is because dry mouth will make it hard for saliva to eliminate the bacteria found in your mouth, and the plaque will collect in the gums more easily because of this. Since plaque can weaken a dental implant, it is important to know the tricks to preventing plaque if you have dry mouth.

Brush After Every Meal

Your current oral hygiene routine may revolve around brushing when you wake up and before you go to bed. Unfortunately, you may need to do a bit more work to prevent plaque when you have dry mouth.

You should consider getting rid of any leftover food in your mouth right after every meal. It only takes a couple of hours for food to become plaque, and plaque that is left to sit all day long can gradually harden and become tartar.

Use a toothbrush with soft bristles to brush after eating. You'll want to place the toothbrush half on the gums and half on your teeth when brushing, which will agitate the gums and loosen and plaque that is in them.

Change Your Diet

Some foods will be more likely to attract plaque to your teeth than other foods due to them being more likely to stick to the teeth. They are typically foods that are hard or sticky. For instance, eating a steak will often cause tiny pieces of meat to be stuck between the teeth, and won't come out unless you brush or use floss to remove them.

Dealing with these foods can be a huge bother when the goal is to reduce plaque buildup. Try to remove these foods from your diet so that they are not affecting your teeth, or only have them on occasion with the goal to brush and floss immediately after.

You made an investment by getting dental implants, which is why it helps to take steps to prevent them from failing. These two things will help reduce the plaque, make your gums healthy, and lower the risk of a dental implant failing. Reach out to your dentist for more things you can be doing to prevent plaque or remove it from your teeth.   


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