Recognizing The Benefits of Dental Implants

Many red wine drinkers struggle to maintain the color of their teeth, and even their dental implants. If you have dental implants and enjoy drinking red wine, it's important to know how red wine can affect your implants and what you can do to keep your implants looking their best.

Can red wine stain your dental implants?

Dental implants are made of porcelain, a porous kiln-fired stone. Porcelain is protected by glaze, which will not stain from red wine. However, if the glaze becomes scratched or worn away, the porcelain beneath the glaze can easily become stained.

Red wine is slightly acidic, which means that red wine can actually etch the glaze and stain the porcelain underneath. The tannins contained in the wine will bond the wine to the teeth and stain them more quickly.

If your implants become stained by red wine, can they be bleached?

Bleaching your dental implants will not change their color. However, bleaching will change the shade of the natural teeth around the implants. Since your implants are matched to the color of your teeth, bleaching when you have dental implants will result in the teeth and implants becoming mismatched.

How can you maintain your dental implants and protect them from red wine?

You can keep implants looking their best and prevent them becoming stained by red wine by doing the following:

• Brush your teeth before drinking red wine. When you brush your teeth, be sure to use a soft-bristled brush on your implants, and use implant-safe toothpaste. Your dentist can recommend a type of toothpaste if you're not sure which one. Brushing your teeth before consuming red wine can keep your teeth polished and smooth, which will prevent the red wine from bonding to your teeth.
• Swish with sparkling water between sips. Swishing sparkling water in your mouth will wash the red wine from off your implants as you drink.
• Chew sugarless gum after drinking red wine. Sugarless gum cleans teeth much like toothbrush and tooth paste. Chewing sugarless gum will help keep your teeth clean after drinking.
• See your dentist regularly. Getting your teeth professionally cleaned will help you avoid stains on your implants and natural teeth. Your dentist will be able to remove the plaque and polish your teeth, which will help keep them looking their natural color.

For more information about how you can protect your dental implants from red wine, contact your dentist (like those at Dental Services Of Rochester). He or she can answer your questions and make suggestions.