If your dental implants are loose or discolored, you may need to have them restored. Unfortunately, your body will change over time and like regular teeth, the dental implants can become jeopardized because of aging or poor oral hygiene.

If you're noticing you can see parts of the implants that should be covered by your gums, or the implants hurt and don't feel right, you want to get to the implant specialist right away. You want to make sure your oral health isn't in danger. Here are a few things you may want to consider while you're there.

Cleaning and Gum Preservation

The implants need to be cleaned because they will accumulate plaque just like real teeth. The bacteria can deteriorate the synthetic implants over time, especially if the patient's oral hygiene is lacking. It can also deteriorate the gum tissue that covers the screw drilled into the jaw bone that keeps the implant in place.

If the gums are deteriorating significantly, cleaning won't be enough. The patient may need to have pinhole surgery to have the gums lifted up on the teeth, or they may need to have tissue grafting completed. This is where new gum tissue is taken from roof of the mouth and placed around the teeth.

Bone Grafting

The bones deteriorate and lose density as the body ages, meaning they could lose the strength needed to support the dental implants. If this happens, the implant dental professional may want to do bone grafting to your jaw bones to help support the implant hardware. This is where they take bone from another area of the body, and infuse it in the area needed to help make the implant strong. The dental expert will have to take x-rays to see if this is needed. You may be put on supplements to help improve the bone density in your teeth and jaw bones.

There are a lot of different things you'll want to consider when you want to preserve your smile, and to make sure that your implants last you for a lifetime. If you notice any problems with your implants and you haven't been diligent about getting routine cleanings and tightening, the sooner you get the problems fixed the less damage you're going to create. Your implants are an investment that you should maintain over time, and the implant specialist can help restore your implants to make them look healthy and new. To learn more about dental implants, speak with someone like Tijeras Dental Service.