What is your office protocol on implant maintenance? First, the recommendations were to use only implant scalers and never use ultrasonics. I attended a CE course in which the periodontist stressed never probe or scale an implant unless there are signs of inflammation. What do you do?
If you can scale the actual implant then there is more going on with the health of the implant. The only thing you will scale if you must call it that “scale” is the crown. I’ve used regular cavitron insert and a special implant insert. My probes are plastic whether it’s implant or tooth…..the yellow and black hufriedy…..in my advancing age I can see the yellow and black better than the silver and black. Radiographs pre and pits implant placement with yearly PA to check bone height and look for the rings on the implant and make sure the bone height and the first ring are stay the same. A probe depth up to 5mm is normal for an implant (several periodontists and oral surgeons opinions). The implant flosses different than teeth, flex different too. Clean the crown like yo would a tooth with a crown because you should not be able to touch the actual implant due to tissue etc..
Go to the link and click on FAQ and click on Implants. Great periodontist with a very informative website.
I recently went to a great hygiene course by one of the leading periodontists and he said that metal probes were better to use on implants than plastic ones and that we should be probing at every visit. I do use an ultrasonic tip when cleaning implants but it is the plastic coated cavitron implant tip.
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