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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

Like many people who need to lose a few pounds, I try diet after diet in an attempt to find one that finally works for me. I learned the hard way that I need to make sure any diet will not harm my teeth, even if it does help me lose a few pounds. I learned this lesson when following a grapefruit diet. There are many versions of this, but the version I tried had me eat a grapefruit alone several times each day. It was supposed to suppress my appetite. I helped keep me from munching on unhealthy snacks, but the acid in the fruit took a toll on my tooth enamel and I quickly started getting lots of cavities. I created this blog to remind people that change up their diets often to make sure the foods they are eating are not harming their teeth.

3 Tips for Ensuring Osseointegration of Dental Implants in the Face of Bruxism

8 November 2016
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

Once the dental implant has been installed, it will begin to osseointegrate with the jawbone. This can take anywhere from two to six months. Until then, the dental implant is still relatively unstable, and too much pressure on its surface can cause implant complications and failure. Successful osseointegration is particularly difficult in patients with bruxism. If you have a tendency to grind your teeth, you might be causing damage to your implants without being aware of it. Your dental surgeon or dentist will need to come up with a suitable treatment plan that will prevent your bruxism from affecting your implant. Here are three common tips that might help.

Focus on the Implant Design

One of the main ways to alleviate the excess pressure placed on the dental implants from bruxism is to focus on the implant design. Your dentist might recommend reducing the overall diameter of the implant. While this may not be as aesthetically pleasing, it might be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful dental implant osseointegration. If the occlusal table is small, it will rest primarily on the implant. This means that the bite force will be distributed primarily through the implant itself and not on the surface of the crown.

Wear a Mouth Guard to Sleep and Whenever Else Necessary

A custom fitted mouth guard will generally be prescribed to help you deal with your bruxism, especially when you sleep. While the dental implant is still undergoing osseointegration, wear the mouth guard as much as possible. The mouth guard will absorb the majority of the bite force and the pressure to keep the dental implant intact. The mouth guard will distribute the pressure of bruxism across the entire dental arch rather than just at one location.

Monitor the Implant Osseointegration Regularly to Deal with Complications Immediately

Bruxism can make dental implant complications much more prevalent among affected patients. If this pertains to you, your dentist or dental surgeon might recommend that you schedule your dental check-ups more frequently. It's vital that a professional keeps an eye on the rate of the osseointegration to ensure there are no mishaps along the way. If any complications arise, they need to be dealt with immediately, as the bruxism will only cause the complications to worsen at a much more rapid rate.

Bruxism can affect how successfully the dental implants osseointegrate into the jawbone, so make sure that you get all of the professional assistance and help that you need. Once the dental implant has osseointegrated successfully, you won't have to worry about the effects that bruxism might have on it as much. Talk to your dentist and check out http://www.dentistryoffayetteville.com if you have more questions.