Peri-Implant Disease and Infection – A Patient’s Guide

Do you aware of Peri-Implant Disease? Yes… you’re right! Peri-implant diseases are inflammatory conditions or gingivitis affecting the soft and hard gum tissues around dental implants.

Similar to a natural look, bacteria can build up on the base of the implant, below the gum line. Did you know?

• Bacterial build-up in and around implants can lead to peri-implant disease and infection
• Peri-implant diseases are one of the risk factors for implant failure
  
  

There are two types of peri-implant disease:

• Peri-implant mucositis (similar to gingivitis) affects the gum tissue only
• Peri-implantitis (similar to periodontitis) normally includes bone loss and often requires surgery to correct
  
  

Signs and Prevention of Peri-Implant Disease
Half of the dental implant patients are now suffering from peri-implant disease. Signs of peri-implant disease are as same as gum disease. The symptoms includes: bleeding gums, receding gums, red or tender gums, around the implant.

There are few surgical factors that cause peri-implantitis to happen:
Soft bone, lack of tightness when the dental implant is placed, bone that was grafted in a vertical fashion, implant size too big, overheated bone, and many others.

 Signs of peri-implantitis

• Gum pockets deepen
• Pus comes out from the implants and gums
• Bleeding at the gum line
• Appearance – gum is red, or slightly purplish bluish, tartar/plaque build up
• Progressive loss of supporting bone on x-rays
• Metal thread exposure
• Long tooth
  

Prevention of Peri-Implant Disease:
Daily cleaning of all the surfaces above and below the gum line is the must to preventing peri-implant disease.

Just like your natural teeth, dental implants too require regular brushing, flossing and regular checkups from experienced dental professionals.

Other risks factors for developing peri-implant disease include previous periodontal disease diagnosis, poor plaque control, smoking, and diabetes. It is essential to routinely monitor dental implants as part of a comprehensive periodontal evaluation.

Peri-Implant Disease Treatment
Peri-implant disease is generally not painful and it’s a silent-killer disease. And patients are not aware that they have inflammation in the gum line. Various treatment options has been revealed and assessed for efficacy, but so far no universally accepted modality has emerged. Most peri-implantitis dental implants require surgery and bone grafting. This means that your gums have to be opened and the area has to be detoxified. All of the bacteria must be killed in order to have bone re-grafted onto the implants.

For peri-implant disease treatment, beware of websites or clinics trying to always push you to see their own specialist prior to a visit to the general dentist. It would most likely to incur on unnecessary higher dentist costs in Australia. You can visit the blogging site www.dentistscost.com.au to know more about the cheap dental implant treatment cost in Australia.

The management of peri-implant disease is definitely a challenge. Like gum disease, peri-implant disease can be cured, if it detected early, diagnosed correctly and treated with proper oral care. The instruction of patients in implant maintenance and daily homecare are of paramount importance for a successful implant treatment.

So, if you have had dental implants fitted and are proud of your new natural looking smile, make sure you remember that in order to keep smiling it means a lifetime commitment to tip-top maintenance and regular dental visits. For more details, visit www.dentistscost.com.au, the leading blogging site to know more!