How to Safely Floss and Protect Your Dental Implants

For the most part, taking care of dental implants in Orange County is largely comparable to caring for natural teeth. However, there are a few key tips to keep in mind when flossing them, especially when cleaning a larger implant bridge or denture. By doing so, you can ensure your tooth replacement stays clean for many years to come and avoid causing harm to your smile going forward. Here are a handful of the most useful tips from a periodontist to help you get started!

Learn How to Use a Floss Threader

Floss threaders are dedicated products designed to clean areas of the mouth that toothbrushes and standard flosses cannot reach. These threaders are slightly thicker and have a pre-made loop for floss to thread through.

To use them, simply pull out about 18 inches of floss as you would normally, then thread about four to five inches of the floss through the loop of the threader. From there, place the floss threader through the area in need of cleaning to remove plaque from around the implant.

While this product is typically used for implant bridges and dentures, it’s also commonly used for other oral appliances like traditional braces. Feel free to ask the doctor who placed your implants to provide guidance if needed.

Always Floss with Care

Unlike natural teeth, dental implants do not stay in place through a periodontal ligament. This portion of oral tissue is removed when an extraction is performed. Instead, the tooth is held in place through the fusion of bone tissue that makes up the jaw. The only attachment the gums have to the implant is through a peri-implant seal. This seal is not only much weaker than a ligament, but it is not supplied with nerves to let you know when it has been broken. That means you could break it on accident while flossing and not even realize it, exposing the gum pocket and jawbone to bacteria.

For this reason, you’ll always want to use extreme caution when flossing around dental implants and never push the floss down into the gum pocket.

Water Flossers and Interproximal Brushes

Also known as an oral irrigator, water flossers are designed to spray pressurized water to loosen plaque on teeth and dental implants. These are typically electric and can prime plaque for easier removal when brushing. You can also use an interproximal brush, a specific type of dental instrument that can reach into more narrow spaces better than traditional toothbrushes. Just make sure to avoid types that use metal wires as these can scratch the implant and create tiny crevices in the gums for plaque to develop.

At the end of the day, the periodontist in Orange County that placed your implant will be able to provide recommendations on how to keep it clean for many years to come. Just make sure to visit them regularly for an exam and cleaning like always!

About the Author

Dr. Justin Braga has been working as a dentist for over 15 years and currently specializes in the fields of periodontics and implant dentistry. He’s also a Board-Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology as well as Board-Certified in periodontics and dental implant surgery. He greatly enjoys helping patients practice the best at-home oral care possible for their new dental implants. To schedule an appointment, you can contact him through his website.