Restorative Dental Diets: How Healthy Eating Helps Dental Implants Last

Dental implants are some of the best restorations around, but even they can’t endure everything. These prosthetics will fail early if you don’t take good (and consistent) care of them. With that said, look into changing your diet a bit; healthy eating helps dental implants last. The right foods and drinks may well keep your smile whole for a lifetime! As for the details, here’s a summary of the matter from your West Hartford dentist.

Yes, Dental Implants Can Fail Early

While dental implants are the “gold standard” of tooth replacement, they aren’t perfect or indestructible. They can fail earlier than they should without proper supervision.

There are two leading causes of dental implant failure: peri-implantitis and failed osseointegration. The first is a type of gum disease centered near your implant, which loses support as the infection spreads. In contrast, failed osseointegration occurs when your post doesn’t fuse with your jawbone. (This lack of fusion makes an implant unstable and likely to fall out over time.)

Of course, rarer (but still notable) causes exist as well. These include teeth grinding, poor oral hygiene, and even conditions like diabetes or osteoporosis.

Healthy Eating Helps Dental Implants

To fight the factors that cause implant failure, try eating healthier meals. The proper diet would benefit your restorations with:

Faster Treatment Recovery

For one thing, healthy eating speeds up your recovery from implant surgery. It provides nutrients that help your treatment site form blood clots more quickly. With this fast-forming clot in place, you’ll then face fewer obstacles to implant fusion – the process of osseointegration.

Enjoying this effect wouldn’t even take much. All in all, you’d just need to eat more anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, nuts, strawberries, etc.

Stronger Infection Resistance

If you stick to a good diet, you’ll also have a stronger resistance to infections. The vitamins and minerals from your meals would boost your immune system, ensuring you fight off “bad” bacteria more easily. Such a result would mean a lower chance of peri-implantitis, a major contributor to implant failure.

For better immunity, add more spinach, kale, citrus fruits, nuts, and yogurt to your dishes.

Better Jawbone Density

Last but not least, healthy eating would give you a denser and stronger jaw. That’s a crucial effect because high jawbone density lets implants fuse easily with your smile. So, make sure to eat fatty fish, dairy products, and other items rich in calcium and vitamin D!

Healthy eating helps dental implants last, so what are you waiting for? Make suitable changes to your diet for your smile’s sake!

About the Practice

West Hartford Dental Group is based in West Hartford, CT. Led by Drs. Phadnis, Pucci, and Rascius, our practice is geared toward great, caring, and personalized dentistry. We account for each patient’s needs with every treatment, whether their care is preventive or involves cosmetic and restorative bits. Our team even places dental implants in-house to ensure superior results, so don’t hesitate to share your preferences! For more details, please contact us on our website or by phone at (860)-236-4249.