More teeth for life

Modern dentistry is all about having teeth for life. Our goal as dentists at Cheltenham Dental Spa is to help you keep your teeth healthy and fit for purpose for as long as possible. But, should you lose one or two in an accident, or they start to fail due to decay, gum disease or grinding, then we’d like to be able to offer you more teeth for life with dental implants in Cheltenham.

Dental implants in Cheltenham can be teeth for life because of the materials they are made of and the way they fuse with the jawbone after being inserted. All you need to do once your dental implants have integrated is make sure you stick to a diligent daily oral healthcare routine and have regular visits to the hygienist.

Keeping your implants happy

It’s not that your dental implants in Cheltenham can decay. The porcelain that the crowns are made of cannot be eaten into like teeth because there is no dentin or pulp beneath the surface.

Neither can the implant posts in your jaw decay. They are made of titanium, which does not rust.

However, the bone in which the implants are placed can be affected by gum disease. It is this that you need to watch out for.

Gum disease is caused by plaque, which is that sticky film you can find on your teeth when you haven’t cleaned them for a few hours. It harbours bacteria, and if it is not removed for about three days, it starts to harden into what we call tartar. The bacteria in plaque feed on the sugars in your mouth, which is why you need to clean the food out of your mouth twice a day. The bacteria give off acids and these can eat into natural teeth to cause decay. But these acids can also irritate and inflame the gums, which can lift away from the teeth to form pockets into which food can get trapped, or more plaque can build-up, leading to putrefaction of the food and more acid, this time getting at the bone under the gum into which your teeth, real or implanted, are lodged. The bone can get eaten away, loosening the teeth or dental implants, which can fall out.