Clean and Maintain Your New Bridge
Your new bridge, installed at 19th Avenue Dental effectively restores the structure and appearance of a tooth that was lost due to advanced tooth decay, fracture or otherwise required extraction. While your new bridge is made from materials that are not subject to tooth decay, it will still need to be cleaned to prevent issues with gum disease.
Hardened tartar on your teeth, near the gum line, is the number one cause of gum disease. This is caused by an ineffective oral hygiene routine that doesn’t clean away plaque and residual food particles. Left unresolved chronic gum disease can pose a serious threat to your bridge in several different ways.
Eventually, gum disease will cause your gum tissues to recede from the base of your teeth. This allows pockets of infection to form at the base of your teeth where the ends of your bridge is cemented to the abutments. This constant bacterial exposure can start to weaken the cement holding your bridge in place.
In time this advanced gum disease can cause a loss bone structure near the base of the abutments. This can result in one or both of them failing.
Brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day will help to remove plaque and food particles before they can harden into tartar. If you are having trouble cleaning around the bridge, you might want to try using interdental brush, a floss threader with waxy floss or a dental water jet.
If you have questions about how to clean your bridge, feel free to call 19th Avenue Dental at 425-385-8130 to schedule an appointment.
