Anyone getting dental implants will be told that the recovery portion of the surgery is crucial to its success. Here are some things that you will need to know as you start recovering from the procedure.
Know How To Alter Your Oral Health Care Routine
Your dentist will give you some specific directions about how to alter your oral health care routine right after the procedure. You'll be told not to rinse out your mouth for the first day following the procedure, the surgical site will be sensitive and the motion of spitting can put a lot of pressure on it. When you resume rinsing, try to move water gently in your mouth and let it fall out of your mouth rather than spit it out forcefully.
You can resume brushing and flossing your teeth, but you'll want to stay away from doing this around the surgical site. Your dentist will let you know exactly how long the implant needs to heal, but you can expect to give it a couple of weeks before it can brush the area. You should not use a water flosser at all, because it can be very traumatic for the surgical site.
Know How To Alter Your Diet
Chewing with the dental implants right after they are put in your mouth is bad for a few reasons. Not only can it be incredibly painful to do so, but it will open up the surgical site and cause the implant to move. This can result in a complication or an infection.
You'll want to avoid eating foods that can hurt your dental implant, which includes foods that are very sharp or highly seasoned. Things like potato chips, nuts, and seeds can all be sharp and hard enough to cause damage. Consider taking vitamin supplements during the healing process so that you get the vitamins that you need, even though you may be avoiding some foods.
Know How To Deal With Pain and Swelling
The amount of pain you experience will be associated with how many implants you received and how complicated the surgery was. Expect pain to slowly diminish over the first week, and contact your dentist if the pain becomes worse rather than better. You can take an over-the-counter pain reliever to deal with pain as needed.
Swelling should also continuously go down over the first week, and increased swelling is a reason to be concerned since it's a sign of an infection. The best way to treat swelling is by using a cold ice pack that is rested gently on your face. Avoid applying hard pressure that can disrupt the surgical site.
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