Dental implants are not cheap. When you invest this kind of money into permanent fake teeth, you always want these teeth to look their best. It takes just as much effort to make these teeth look nice as it does to keep your natural teeth the whitest they can be. Here is how to care for your implants so that you can continue to enjoy the whitest smile possible. 

Brush Like They Are Real

People with implants make the mistake of thinking that now that they have permanent fake teeth, they do not have to brush. That is incorrect thinking. You have fake teeth that are surgically inserted into living bone and gum tissue, and the gum tissue has to be kept healthy in order for the dental implants to stay put. Brush the gums, and brush your implants, too. It will keep the gums healthy, and it will remove food residue that could stain your implants over time. 

Do Not Chew Tobacco or Smoke

Many forms of tobacco, including smokeless, chewing, and cigarettes or cigars, all contain tar. It is akin to repetitively putting asphalt in your mouth and chewing on it. As such, the tar in these products will stain your implants almost as easily as they will stain your natural teeth, with the tiny exception of taking a little bit longer. That said, any implants you have sitting next to natural teeth will be very obvious if you chew tobacco or smoke. The slight variances in discoloration will give away which teeth are real and which are fake. 

See Your Dentist Regularly for Cleaning

Your dentist knows how to keep your implants whiter. While they cannot be bleached the same way that natural teeth can, your dentist still has the means to keep the implants white. If there comes a time when you do not like how the implants have slowly discolored, your dentist may suggest changing the crowns to new ones to restore your whitest smile. You could do this, but be aware that the process is a little more difficult than changing a tire. It requires scheduling a surgical procedure, just like the first time when your abutment screws were inserted, except that it will take a little less time this time because you are changing/swapping out the fake crowns on the implants. In the meantime, you can have professional dental cleanings to manage implant whiteness.