Becoming complacent about your oral health can be a very easy trap to fall into, particularly if you have a history of excellent dental visits. Patients start feeling like they can skip an appointment here and there, only going once a year, then it becomes once every 18 months. Before they know it, it has been 5 years between visits, periodontal disease is rampant, teeth are loose or missing, and more expensive restorative options are being discussed.
Not only does progressive periodontal disease caused by a lack of routine dental care and poor oral hygiene lead to missing teeth,1 it can cause serious health complications, increased financial stress, and a decreased quality of life that extends well beyond the mouth.2 In addition to bleeding gums and unsightly tooth loss, periodontal disease has been linked to progressive chronic diseases including heart disease and cardiovascular complications.3 Maintaining your original smile and overall oral wellness not only saves your appearance, comfort, and confidence but it will help you live a full healthy life with your friends and family by limiting your risk of serious systemic chronic illnesses.
Dental Implants: Not Original, But Still In Need of TLC
Though oral health maintenance through routine dental care is the ideal standard to uphold, life happens. Financial concerns, family and work commitments, and even relocation make it difficult to maintain a regular dental care schedule. Eventualy, we get behind, and teeth unfortunately fail providing a need for modern restorative options like dental implants.
Keeping Your Dental Implants Like New: What the Experts Are Saying
Even though dental implants are not original to your smile, they integrate seamlessly with your other teeth and jawbone through a process known as osteointegration, making them part of the family. Proper maintenance of and around dental implants, including the gum tissue, is essential for a healthy smile. If dental implants are not properly cared for, a condition known as periimplantitis, or inflammation and infection around the implant, can develop causing everything from significant discomfort to widespread oral and general health complications.4
When you follow best practices in caring for your dental implants, it can have a substantial long-term benefit to your smile. Survival rates of dental implants have been found to be as high as 93.1% after 10 years.5. Patients who were placed on a regular maintance program at a miniumum of once every 12 months showed a 90% decrease in failure of the implant, even if they had a history of periodontal disease.6
It is important to note that lifestyle choices do have an impact on maintaining a healthy smile, even in cases where restorative options like dental implants are utilized. A study by Pjetursson et al5 indicated that smoking was a significant predetermining factor in development of periimplantitis and implant related complications.
Take Action for your Oral Health: Your Smile is Worth It!
Caring for and paying attention to your oral heath is not an option, particularly during dental care month! Taking care of your teeth will not only give you the bright, confident smile we all long for, but it will help you stay healthy and happy for your friends and loved ones for years to come!
If you are a resident of Southern California, particularly around Reseda, Los Angeles, or Encino, contact us today and lets discuss your oral health goals! We can’t wait to hear from you!
- Gilbert GH, Shelton BJ, Chavers LS, Bradford EH Jr. Predicting tooth loss during a population-based study: role of attachment level, mobility, crown-to-root ratio, and smoking. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002;133(11):1457-1465. (3)
- Peres MA, Macpherson LMD, Weyant RJ, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019;394(10194):249-260. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31146-8
- Tonetti MS, Van Dyke TE. Periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: consensus report of the Joint EFP/AAP Workshop on Periodontitis and Systemic (4)
- Atieh MA, Alsabeeha NH, Faggion CM Jr, Duncan WJ. The frequency of peri-implant diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Periodontol. 2013;84(11):1586–1598. doi:10.1902/jop.2012.120592 (5)
- Pjetursson BE, Thoma D, Jung R, Zwahlen M, Zembic A. A systematic review of the survival and complication rates of implant-supported fixed dental prostheses after a mean observation period of at least 5 years. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2012;23(Suppl 6):22–38. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0501.2012.02546.x (6)
- Monje A, Alarcón MA, Nart J, et al. Role of supportive maintenance therapy on implant survival: a retrospective study. Int Dent J. 2014;64(2):119-125. doi:10.1111/idh.12188 (7)
