Whether you just lost an adult tooth or your dentist told you that you might lose one soon, you may want to think about dental implants as a possible solution. Dental implants can replace a lost tooth with one that looks and feels like the real one. This will give you a healthy smile and keep you from getting sick. Dental implants are permanent solutions, but you will need to take care of them after the surgery. Here’s an overview of how to take care of your dental implants after they’ve been put in.
What to Do and What Not to Do After Getting a Dental Implant
Following are the things that you should avoid doing after getting dental implant treatment.
1. Don’t Eat or Drink Anything Right Away After Surgery
After your surgery, you shouldn’t eat for at least two hours. Stick to soft foods or fluids that don’t need much or chewing on the first day after surgery. Soft pasta, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and milkshake are good things. If you need to chew, do it on the side of your mouth that the dentist didn’t operate on.
2. Don’t Smoke
The person shouldn’t smoke or drink any alcohol. This is especially important because the nicotine in cigarettes narrows blood vessels. This cuts off blood flow to soft tissues and could make it harder for the immune system to respond to something. When people smoke, their bodies don’t get enough oxygen to heal correctly, which slows down the healing process, and hurts the bone and gums in the long run. A bad diet, not taking care of your teeth, and drinking too much alcohol can slow healing.
3. Don’t Lift Heavy Things or Work Out Hard
Any stress on your body can slow down healing at the treatment site. Putting off exercise for a while makes sure that you don’t get extra swelling or bleeding.
4. Don’t Use a Straw
While your mouth heals, straws will come in handy, but avoid suction. The blood clot developing over the surgery site will be prematurely dislodged by straw drinking. A painful condition known as a dry socket may result from it coming loose too soon.
What should you do after a dental implant?
1. Use Warm, Salty Water to Rinse Your Mouth
You might be bleeding. Use warm, salty water to rinse your mouth. Make sure to do these rinses twice or thrice.
2. Take a Few Days to Rest
Oral surgery isn’t as complicated as surgery on a major organ, but it is still hard on your body. Make sure you’re ready for a few days of rest by having a friend or family member who can help cook food or look after your kids or pets.
3. Do What Your Oral Surgeon Tells You to Do
Even though you should brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily, you will have to stop doing this for a while. Your oral surgeon will tell you when you can return to your routine for taking care of your teeth. But when you are ready to go back to work, be gentle with your teeth and gums to help them continue to heal.
Read More: The Complete Guide to Choosing an Implant Dentist: Everything to Know
4. Quick Aftercare Advice
Of course, you’re also undoubtedly interested in knowing how to care for your dental implants after the treatment properly.
Over the following 24 hours after receiving dental implants, you’ll probably suffer some typical pain and swelling, so you shouldn’t be alarmed.
You should take the after your procedure:
- Bite on the sponges that are placed in your mouth to stop bleeding.
- Avoid excessive movement for the first 8 to 12 hours after surgery, and keep your head elevated.
- When necessary, apply an ice pack to your face for 15 minutes at a time.
- After dental implants, you should consume soft foods and beverages for the first 24 hours.
- Take prescribed drugs as your doctor has instructed.
- Do not rinse your mouth for the first twenty-four hours.
Conclusion
The time it takes to heal after getting a dental implant could be stressful, painful, and inconvenient for many people. Dental implants require diligent at-home oral care and routine dental appointments like natural teeth to maintain function and ward off peri-implant disease. Brushing and flossing are still needed to keep your implant clean and plaque-free. Patients often recover depending on how well they follow the oral surgeon’s post-op instructions. Visit your nearby implant dentist to learn more about the aftercare of dental implants.
