In reply to oldie:
> Slightly off topic but is cleaning less important with implants? Its common for bedbound, elderly people in care homes to have rotting, infected teeth and for dental treatment, ie extractions, to be difficult to arrange. Would having dental implants when younger prevent continual tooth pain towards the end of life, albeit at considerable expense?
> Incidentally one of my wife's relatives was terrified of dentists and decided it was better to have all her teeth extracted when she was young and use dentures for the rest of her life....a somewhat extreme but very practical step!
Unfortunately it's actually more (as in WAAAAAAAY more) important to keep implants clean- especially if the patient has lost teeth due to gum disease. Obviously there's no risk of decay as its titanium and porcelain so there's nothing to rot but what can (and often does) happen if the patient isn't meticulous with their oral hygiene is something called periimplantitis- plaque building up around the gum margin causes swelling which then often progresses to the bone around the implant breaking down-it's basically gum disease around an implant.
With natural teeth this takes years before there's an issue but with an implant it can be a matter of months before you're looking at catastrophic bone loss and a failed implant.