Dental Implant Healing Process

Video Transcript

"And then, now so you've got these implants, now they're healed, they're ready to go. Then what? Then the next step is basically allowing these implants to make sure the gum conforms around the implant naturally like it does around the natural tooth. So we place a special metal to lock it together with the implant, and give it about a week or two for the tissue to heal, and then once that has done so, then we take the mold and make the crown. So when we have that mold, a technician will look at the gum and know how to end the porcelain or end the metal, whatever it takes to make it look natural and clean. You want the surface to be smooth--as smooth as possible, basically. Now the main reason is that with a round implant, as long as the surface is smooth, the plaque can't stick to it. If the plaque can't stick to it, it doesn't damage the implant. And so the tissue will stay healthy. Remember, if the tissue is not healthy, the tissue is red or irritated, then you have a chance of gum diseases and you have a chance of bone loss, and it's basically allowing the bacteria to harbor and to grow in that area, and with something foreign in your mouth or body, unlike what it does with the natural teeth, it tries to hold onto the natural teeth for as long as possible, with a foreign object like a dental implant, if there's any type of infection, literally within weeks, you can lose that whole implant quite easily. So you've got to be careful with that. I always tell my patients that if you have any symptom or any redness or bleeding, you've got to let me take a look at it, because it's easier if I catch it early to clean it out and then you're all done, versus when the patient comes in with everything in their hand. Then we have to kind of start from square one. So, that's where the home care comes in, where there's no difference. You have to brush, floss, and one thing that I even add to it is the usage of a water pick. A machine that shoots water in a jet stream where you can flush around the gum once every night before you go to bed. As long as you do that, it's just proper, good oral hygiene. If you can have that then really you shouldn't have any problem."