Tobias K. Boehm (February 27, 2025)
After dental implant placement, healing caps (a.k.a. healing abutments, healing collars, healers) are placed to keep gum tissue from covering the implant before the replacement teeth are made and attached to the implants. It is difficult to effectively brush or floss these healing caps, and here is one method for cleaning these after meals:
- Dip cotton tip into small amount of alcohol-free antiseptic mouthwash
- Gently wipe down all surfaces of the healing cap
This should remove food and debris from the healing cap, and the healing cap should always look clean. If the healing cap feels loose, see your dentist who placed the implant. Also see your dentist if there is bleeding that persists or if the tissue around the healing cap looks redder than gum tissue nearby as this could be a sign of infection.
About the author:
Tobias K. Boehm, DDS, PhD, MBA, PC, DABP, DICOI, FGDIA is the founder of The Dental Institute, executive director at The Defeating Epilepsy Foundation and a professor at Western University of Health Sciences where he teaches and practices a periodontal specialist.