Dental implants are structurally different from natural teeth. In an interview, Dr. Lee Sang-chil of Guro U.D. Dental Clinic explained that unlike natural teeth, implants have a small gap between the surface and the gums, and food trapped in this gap can cause inflammation. He pointed out that many patients only brush the smooth surfaces of their teeth. He emphasized the importance of applying the concept of scaling to daily oral care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Copilot_20260514_173740-1024x683.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n(Dr. Lee Sang-chil, Guro U.D. Dental Clinic)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post\u2011implant care is extremely important\u2014truly essential. When you get an implant, a gap forms between the implant surface and the gums, a gap that natural teeth don\u2019t have. Because of this structural space, food debris easily gets trapped and becomes a source of inflammation. However, most patients, out of long\u2011held brushing habits, only clean the smooth surfaces of their teeth and stop there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s like cleaning a window\u2014if you only wipe the large glass surface but don\u2019t clean the window frame, dust will build up there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s just like when the dentist cleans everything, but the window frame is left dirty\u2014food debris will still be stuck there. That\u2019s why you must pay attention to cleaning that \u201cframe.\u201d \nIf you clean the gum gaps well, the smooth tooth surfaces naturally get cleaned too. If you feel it\u2019s still not enough, you can brush horizontally once more. But the most important thing is thoroughly cleaning those gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Proper placement of an implant is important, but its lifespan is determined by how well you care for it. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \uc784\ud50c\ub780\ud2b8 \ud6c4 \uad00\ub9ac\ubc95\uc744 \uc815\ud655\ud558\uac8c \uc124\uba85\ud574 \uc8fc\ub294 \uce58\uacfc\uac00 \ub9ce\uc9c0 \uc54a\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4. \ub300\ubd80\ubd84\uc740 \uc784\ud50c\ub780\ud2b8\ub9cc \uc798 \uc2ec\uc5b4\uc8fc\uace0, \uc774\ud6c4 \uad00\ub9ac\ubc95\uc740 \uac04\ub2e8\ud788 \uc548\ub0b4\ud558\uace0 \ub05d\ub098\ub294 \uacbd\uc6b0\uac00 \ub9ce\uc8e0.\u00a0 \uc784\ud50c\ub780\ud2b8\ub294 \uc790\uc5f0\uce58\uc544\uc640 \uad6c\uc870\uc801\uc73c\ub85c \ub2e4\ub985\ub2c8\ub2e4. \uad6c\ub85c \uc720\ub514\uce58\uacfc \uc774\uc0c1\uce60 \uc6d0\uc7a5\uc740 \uc778\ud130\ubdf0\uc5d0\uc11c \uc784\ud50c\ub780\ud2b8\ub294 \uc790\uc5f0\uce58\uc544\uc640 \ub2ec\ub9ac \ud45c\uba74\uacfc \uc787\ubab8 \uc0ac\uc774\uc5d0 \ud2c8\uc774 \uc0dd\uaca8 \uc774 \ud2c8\uc5d0 \uc74c\uc2dd\ubb3c\uc774 \ub0a8\uc73c\uba74 \uc5fc\uc99d\uc744 \uc720\ubc1c\ud55c\ub2e4. \ub9ce\uc740 \ud658\uc790\uac00 \uc591\uce58\uc9c8\ud560 \ub54c \uce58\uc544\uc758 \ub9e4\ub048\ud55c \uba74\ub9cc \ub2e6\uace0 \ub05d\ub0b4\ub294 \uc2b5\uad00\uc744 \uc9c0\uc801\ud558\uc168\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4. \uc2a4\ucf00\uc77c\ub9c1\uc758 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[99,97,96,84,85,98,100,95],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-primary-dental-care-provider","tag-99","tag-97","tag-96","tag-84","tag-85","tag-98","tag-100","tag-95"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The important thing is that food often gets packed deep between the teeth. When treating patients with implant inflammation, I often find that they never clean the inside of these interdental spaces. It\u2019s because it feels uncomfortable, scary, and difficult to put something like a toothbrush or floss between the teeth. It can even hurt. \nThat\u2019s why, even if it feels uncomfortable, the bristles must go into the space between the teeth. If you move the toothbrush too much while inserting it, it will never enter the gap. You need to apply slight pressure and push the bristles into the space, almost like inserting them gently. Once inside, you should feel the bristles moving\u2014either from the gums or even from the tongue on the opposite side if the gap is large. \nSo you need to brush gently, as if massaging, to properly clean the inside of the interdental space.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Copilot_20260514_172936-683x1024.png\")
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You must clean between your teeth. Brushing only the outer surfaces is never enough. The same goes for the inside surfaces\u2014there are gaps there too, and the bristles need to go in. Every tooth has spaces. It\u2019s okay to push the bristles into those gaps. \nIf you\u2019re not used to doing this, your gums may bleed at first. That\u2019s okay. With consistent cleaning, your gums become stronger, the bleeding decreases, and it even provides a gum\u2011massage effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The smooth surface of teeth is glass\u2011like, so implants don\u2019t easily develop cavities even if some food sticks to them. What really matters is the gap inside the gums. \nAnother point is that a regular toothbrush has length limitations\u2014it can\u2019t always reach deep into the spaces between teeth. Since the bristles must reach deep into those gaps, using an interdental brush is much more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kdoctorinterview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Copilot_20260514_173130-1024x683.png\")
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Interdental brushes are small and long, so they fit well into the gaps. Push them in as far as they will go and clean slowly and thoroughly, making sure not to miss any spot. \nThis method is good not only for implant patients but also for those with periodontal disease who have larger gaps between their teeth. \nUsing interdental brushes, dental floss, and a water flosser is very effective.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people visit the dentist to get scaling done. If you pay attention to what the dentist actually cleans, you\u2019ll understand the key point. \nDuring scaling, they don\u2019t focus on the wide, smooth surfaces of the teeth. What they clean is the gap between the teeth and the gums. \nSo if you clean that same area at home every day, just like the dentist does during scaling, you won\u2019t develop tartar. \nIn my case, I haven\u2019t had scaling done in over 10 years\u2014because proper brushing takes care of everything. \nWhere does the dentist clean during scaling? That exact area. \nIf you focus your brushing on that spot, whether you have natural teeth or implants, you won\u2019t get tartar and your mouth will stay very clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n