The typical advice for avoiding stains on your implant crowns is to be careful when you eat or drink staining substances like berries or tea. This is good advice, but there is more you can do that may be more effective. The crown portions of implants now have a particular finish on them that helps protect them from stain, so as long as that finish stays in good shape, stain on the crown shouldn't be a concern (it will still be a concern for your natural teeth, of course). However, should that finish be removed or scratched, then you could have to deal with stained material.

Two Ways Implants Are Stained

In order for the crown to become stained, that finish has to be scratched off, or a part of the crown that isn't finished has to be exposed.

You can end up scratching the finish if you use an abrasive toothpaste. While soft toothbrush bristles won't affect the crown, medium or hard bristles could, as could toothpaste that contains ingredients like baking soda. (Plus, you shouldn't use medium or hard bristles anyway; they can injure and irritate your gums.) If you have whitening toothpaste, chances are that has a mild abrasive in it because that's typically how those kinds of toothpaste work—the baking soda or other material scrubs off stain. That might work for natural teeth, but for implant crowns, it only removes the protective finish.

The other method has to do with whether the crown has that protective finish down by the gumline. Many times crowns are not finished on the portions that touch your gumline or they use a bonding material that can stain. You need to take care not to let your gums recede because that will make any stain more apparent. It may sound strange, talking about receding gums around a spot that doesn't really have a tooth, but if you start having gum trouble around your other teeth, the implant and crown will be affected, too.

What You Can Do

First, toss your baking soda toothpaste and get one that works to reduce plaque and tartar. When you have an implant, gum and bone health, as well as the health of the surrounding teeth, are much more important than having a daily whitening session. If your teeth are not the shade you prefer, work with your dentist on a plan to brighten your smile—but protect your crown and gums as much as possible.

If you think your crown is becoming stained, make an appointment with the dentist who gave you the implant. You may need another crown, or there may be another solution that lets you keep the one you have while not making your teeth look like they are all different shades.

Contact dental businesses like Nova Premier Dental for more information.