Heart Health: Don't Neglect Dental Care

After a sinus-elevation procedure is complete, it can be difficult to use your mouth to chew or talk without hurting the surgical site. Your doctor may install a dental flipper to not only protect the surgical site but also make it easier for you to chew. A dental flipper looks similar to a partial denture and will cover your surgical site. While wearing a dental flipper, it can be easy to forget to remove the dental flipper to clean the device. A dental flipper develops bacteria buildup the same way that your teeth do. Therefore, it is important to remove this bacteria buildup regularly in order to protect against a potential infection. Luckily, there are a few tips that you can use to accomplish this.

Soak Your Dental Flipper Whenever It Is Not in Use

There are a number of instances when you may decide not to wear your dental flipper. If this occurs, then it is important to avoid leaving your flipper out in the open to just dry out. This will cause any bacteria in your dental flipper to grow and spread. Therefore, you should always keep your dental flipper soaked when it is not in use. You can submerge the device in warm water and add a denture tablet to the mixture. This will help to kill off any bacteria as the dental device is soaking. In the morning, or when you are ready to use it, you can just rinse the device off with warm water before installing it in your mouth.

Brush Your Dental Flipper Before Bed

There is a high chance that you have worn your dental flipper to eat a number of meals throughout the day. As a result, your dental flipper needs to be cleaned thoroughly in order to remove leftover food the same way that you would clean your natural teeth. This can be accomplished by using a simple soft-bristled toothbrush to gently cleanse around the dental device. Try to avoid brushing too hard, as this can cause damage to your dental flipper. Once you are done, rinse out the dental flipper and soak it in water.

Wearing a dental flipper after your sinus elevation is one of the most important steps in the recovery process. However, a dirty flipper can result in a bacterial buildup and will eventually result in an infection. Therefore, use these tips to keep that from happening.

For more information, consult a dentist, which you can find by visiting sites such as http://www.drmaymi.com/.