How do I take care of my Overdenture?

Dental Implant supported Removable Overdenture Care and Maintenance

Dental implants can last a long time when they are maintained with good oral hygiene at home and regular maintenance with your dental health care provider. Continuing, or starting, a daily routine of brushing and flossing is paramount along with making sensible lifestyle choices to maintain your overall health.

The longevity of your dental implant treatment will depend on a number of factors, ranging from your lifestyle choices to your long-term commitment to oral hygiene.

“Dental implant maintenance is not difficult, but it is imperative.”

Good oral hygiene involves caring for your mouth and gums, as these are what hold your implants in place. If you fail to do this, the gums surrounding the implants can develop a buildup of bacteria and, even worse, infection. Infection can jeopardise the bone tissue surrounding the implant, which can cause you to lose the implant altogether.

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Tips to Prolong the Life of your Dental Implant supported Removable Overdenture

Your Aria Dental dentist will help ensure you keep your mouth healthy, but daily maintenance will be left for you to do at home. Here’s what you can do to make sure your overdenture and locators last.

Aftercare Post-Surgery

Immediately following implant surgery we recommend you avoid eating any hard foods that could damage your implant during the healing period. A soft food diet is recommended for 7 days and particular care should be taken for up to 12 weeks after surgery.

Overdenture Cleaning

A clean, fresh mouth gives you the confidence to get closer to people, so understanding how to clean your denture or overdenture is important. Typically, dentures are up to 10x softer than natural teeth and using special denture cleaners that have a low–abrasive formulation will remove 99.9% of odour-causing bacteria and help remove plaque and stains.

Brushing

Just like your natural teeth, the long-term health of your overdenture and its dental implants locators will depend on how well you look after them. The great thing about an removable overdenture is you can care for it easier than your natural teeth!  With regular routine, this cleaning will help you avoid a build-up of plaque and should be done at least twice daily. Using a toothbrush inside your mouth, pay special attention to areas such as the sides of your dental implant locators, as this is where food and plaque often build up.

For you removable overdenture (or denture) use a denture brush – a clever ergonomically designed denture brush that has an oversized, easy-grip handle for extra control. Denture brushes feature two brush heads and some even have a rubber polishing tip at the bottom of the handle to help polish the denture surface, to remove stains such as coffee and tobacco. Long multi-tuft soft bristles are for effective external cleaning. Small angle-trimmed bristles help clean hard to reach areas and grooves. Use the different brush heads to clean your prosthesis.

Denture Tablets

Unlike some toothpastes, denture tablets have a non-abrasive formula, so they clean without scratching and leave fewer places for unwanted bacteria to grow. To deep clean for your dentures you use denture tablets to soak your denture overnight, to removes 99.9% of the odour-causing bacteria, and when used as directed helps to remove tough stains and reduce plaque, giving you a  leaner, fresher denture. There are also ‘express’ or ‘3-minute’ tablet options for those who prefer not to soak their denture overnight.

Interdental Brushes

Make sure you include interdental brushes as part of your dental implant locator maintenance routine. These small brushes can be used to remove pieces of food and plaque from around the sides and in the groves of your locators, reducing your chances build up and gum disease.

Mouthwash

Combined with regular cleaning, antimicrobial mouthwash will help you reduce and eliminate bacteria building up around your teeth implants.

Maintaining a Healthy Mouth

The oral cavity is not mutually exclusive from the rest of your body. It is incorrect to think that if systemic health and general well-being is compromised that your oral health and dental implants are not affected. Your body works as a complete and whole system and you should care for your number one asset accordingly. If you want to maximise the health of your overdentre dental implant locators, make sure you stay healthy and look after yourself. The durability of your locators will not only depend on the maintenance of your mouth, but also on your lifestyle choices as a whole. One of the main factors that can trigger problems with your dental implants (and overall oral hygiene) is smoking.

Regular Dental Visits

Commit to regular dental check-ups and hygienist appointments. This will help your dentist monitor the progress of your implants while giving your replacement teeth the professional clean they need.

Listen to Your Dentist

Most importantly, listen to your dentist’s advice on how to maintain your dental implants. Whether it’s avoiding certain foods during the healing process or following a specific cleaning routine, your dentist’s advice is imperative if you want to keep your implants for as long as possible!

Importance of the Dental Clinician

As with all dental surgical procedures, the qualifications, expertise and experience of the performing dentist is important to ensure the successful placement of the dental implant and minimising the risk of failure.

A Prosthodontist is a highly qualified dental specialist who will be able to provide you with an optimal long term outcome.