How to Care for Your Dental Implant (and Protect It for Life)
A dental implant is one of the most durable and life-changing treatments in modern dentistry. When done right, it can look, feel, and function like a natural tooth for decades.
But long-term success doesn’t happen automatically — it’s built through partnership.
You take care of it at home.
We monitor, adjust, and protect it in the office.
Together, we keep your implant strong for life.
💡 Your Implant Isn’t Just Metal — It’s a Living Connection
Your implant is a precision-engineered system:
A titanium root fused directly to your jawbone (osseointegration)
A custom abutment connecting that implant to your crown
A crown designed for perfect bite and esthetics
At Teuscher Legacy Dental, we use the best possible implant systems like BioHorizons implants, because small details — implant design, abutment fit, and crown material — make a major difference.
Even a slight bite imbalance (we’re talking microns) can create disproportionate stress on the bone or screw, and lead to implant failure.
That’s why we manage the surgical precision, digital customization, and occlusion balance.
Your role is what this article is about — the daily home care that keeps the gum and bone around your implant healthy.
🪥 Daily Home Care: Gentle, Consistent, and Targeted
1️⃣ Use the Right Tools — Not Just Floss
Traditional floss can fray or cut around implants. It’s generally rougher on the delicate tissues around the implant. Instead, it’s better to use:
Soft-Picks (GUM / TePe Soft Brushes) — flexible silicone tips that sweep gently under the gumline.
ProxaBrushes (interdental brushes) — soft, cone-shaped brushes that fit between implants and neighboring teeth.
Implant crowns naturally create a slightly larger “triangle” space where they emerge from the gum. That’s normal — it’s simply the anatomy of an implant. But that small gap can trap food, so daily gentle cleaning here prevents odor, inflammation, and bone loss.
2️⃣ Brush Twice Daily with a Soft or Electric Brush
Angle bristles toward the gumline and use gentle circular motions. Avoid whitening pastes with heavy abrasives. The Best time, if you could only brush once, is right before bed!
3️⃣ Rinse Wisely
An alcohol-free antimicrobial rinse such as CloSYS or PerioScience AO Gel can help reduce biofilm and inflammation.
⚠️ A word of caution on mouth rinses:
Recent research (and experts like Dr. Andrew Huberman) suggest that routine use of strong antimicrobial mouth rinses may disrupt the beneficial oral microbiome that protects long-term gum and cardiovascular health.
So if you use a rinse, treat it as a tool, not a habit — short-term use during healing or inflammation is fine, but your daily defense should be mechanical cleaning: brushing and interdental care.
At Teuscher Legacy Dental, we’ll guide you personally on whether an antimicrobial rinse fits your situation.
🧠 Professional Hygiene Visits: Modern Care for Modern Implants
Every 6 months — or more often for patients with a history of gum disease or other special considerations — your implant should be cleaned with specialized techniques.
✅ Glycine Air Polishing — The Gold Standard (and the One We Use)
There’s one universally accepted, implant-safe method for cleaning titanium: glycine air polishing. Glycine air-polishing has been shown in peer reviewed studies to effectively remove biofilm from titanium without damaging implant surfaces — a clear advantage over traditional scalers
(Renvertetal.,2015), (Jietal.,2014)
Glycine powder particles are a fraction of the size of traditional polishing paste, making it gentle enough for both the implant surface and soft tissue while still removing harmful biofilm.
At Teuscher Legacy Dental, every implant maintenance visit includes glycine air polishing — the safest, most effective way to protect your implant’s surface integrity and prevent peri-implant inflammation.
Most general dental offices still use metal scalers or standard polish on implants — which can microscopically scratch the surface and invite bacterial buildup. We don’t. Every implant patient at Teuscher Legacy Dental receives true implant-safe maintenance.
⚖️ Why Bite Balance Still Matters (and We Handle That Part)
Because implants don’t have a ligament like natural teeth, they can’t flex or cushion forces. Even a subtle bite imbalance can multiply pressure into the bone or screw.
That’s why:
We use premium implants for precision fit
We design custom abutments to shape soft tissue ideally
We select crown materials that distribute force evenly
We continually monitor your occlusion to keep forces balanced
Those are our responsibilities. Yours is consistency — daily care and keeping your maintenance visits.
⚠️ Gum Disease & Peri-Implant Disease: Know the Risks
Implants can’t get cavities, but the surrounding gums and bone can still get infected:
Gum disease (periodontitis) can spread to implant sites
Peri-implant mucositis = early inflammation (redness, bleeding)
Peri-implantitis = deeper bone loss that threatens the implant
These diseases often start silently — but they’re completely preventable through glycine maintenance and proper home care.
🛠️ Long-Term Protection Tips
Wear a nightguard if you clench or grind.
Stay nutritionally strong — vitamin D, omega-3s, and calcium all support bone health.
Keep your recall visits — X-rays and probing track bone stability early.
Call us early for any bleeding, odor, or looseness — small issues are easy to fix when caught early.
🧾 Common Questions We Hear
Can I polish my implant like a regular tooth?
At home, yes — with a soft brush. In-office, only glycine air polishing should ever touch an implant.
Why does food get caught near my implant?
The “triangle” space is normal anatomy. Use a Soft-Pick or ProxaBrush daily to keep it clear.
Can gum disease come back around implants?
Yes — bacteria don’t care if it’s enamel or titanium. That’s why maintenance is essential.
How long will my implant last?
With balanced occlusion, glycine maintenance, and daily home care, most implants last 25 years or more — often for life.
🏁 The Bottom Line
You’ve invested in something built to last.
We handle the surgical precision, occlusion, and maintenance technology.
You handle the daily care.
Brush gently, clean between teeth, and trust that every recall visit at Teuscher Legacy Dental uses the safest, most advanced methods available.
That’s how we protect your implant — and your confidence — for life.
Teuscher Legacy Dental — Choose Excellence
📍 St. Charles • Campton Hills • Kane County
📧 info@teuscherdental.com | ☎ 630-762-0000
