One of the most important things for people who have dental implants placed to know is that your dental implants need to be taken care of just as much as your natural teeth. This means brushing and flossing your teeth and implants twice daily or after meals, and if your implant is removable, removing and cleaning your removable denture each night and properly cleaning around the implant.
In addition to practicing good self-care at home, the best thing you can do to avoid developing peri-implantitis disease is to schedule regular periodontal examinations, during which your periodontist can evaluate your overall oral health and the state of your implants. If an issue is identified, it can be corrected before unnecessary damage occurs. The frequency of these preventative maintenance appointments will largely depend on your medical and dental history, which will include when your implant was placed, the type of implant that was used and its coronal design, and whether your restoration was cement or screw-retained. If you required a dental implant due to periodontal disease, you may require maintenance every three or four months instead of every six.
Patients who have been diagnosed with periodontitis are at an increased risk of developing peri-implant disease. The largest contributing factor to both periodontal disease and peri-implant disease developing is poor oral hygiene habits. This can either be due too the patient not performing oral health care frequently enough or when the patient is not able to mechanically use dental floss and interdental brushes to clean their dental implants. The positioning of the implant can also cause problems to develop when the implant placement is more concerned with aesthetic appearance and functionality, and less concerned with maintenance and hygiene. People who smoke or use tobacco are also at an increased risk of developing peri-implant disease, with nearly 80% of all smokers being diagnosed with peri-implantitis.
Identifying Peri-Implantitis
Once peri-implantitis develops, the alveolar bone responsible for supporting the implant will be lost over time. One of the biggest dangers of peri-implant disease is that it happens very gradually and does not cause any issues until it has already progressed to the point of causing enough damage that the implant may need to be removed. There are, however, some common indicators of peri-implantitis which are important to be aware of, which include:
- Gums that are tender
- Dull aching of the gums
- Swelling and redness of the soft tissue
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Bad taste in one’s mouth
- Presence of pus in the gums
- Gums that easily bleed when brushing
- Implant feels loose
Treatment Options for Peri-implantitis
Treating peri-implantitis can be very difficult and will depend on the nature of the disease. In some cases, treatment will involve detoxifying the surface of the implant and controlling the infection with non-surgical therapy, and in other cases surgical regeneration of the alveolar bone will be necessary. Your periodontist will determine which treatment option is best suited for your needs after reviewing your oral and medical health history, the results of diagnostic exams and whether there is evidence of bone loss, the severity or your case, and discussing your specific treatment goals.