Are you planning to receive dental implants? Your oral surgery team will give you post-op instructions to help you experience a smooth and complication-free recovery. Those directions should include both tips on what you should do and what you should not do while you are healing. This blog post focuses on some activities that fall into the latter category.
Smoking
Smoking is bad news for dental implants in a few different ways. For one thing, it can slow down your body’s ability to heal, which can prolong your discomfort and increase your risk of infection. Smoking also heightens your chances of a painful complication that occurs when the blood clot at a surgical site gets prematurely dislodged.
It would be best for you to completely quit smoking before your surgery. Admittedly, that is very difficult for some individuals. At the very least, you should try to abstain from cigarettes (and other forms of smoking) for at least a few weeks before and after your procedure. A nicotine patch might help you manage withdrawal symptoms.
Intense Exercise
Vigorous physical activity increases blood flow throughout your body, which may lead to excess bleeding at your dental implant sites. It should be fine for you to walk a little and do some basic tasks around the house, but strenuous exercise should wait until at least several days after your surgery.
Vigorous Rinsing
It is important to keep your surgical sites clean, so you might rinse with mouthwash or salt water to maintain a fresh and healthy mouth. However, remember that you should not swish the liquid too vigorously. You might disturb your surgical sites. Use gentle motions to move it around your mouth. When you finish, let it flow out of your mouth instead of forcefully spitting it out.
Eating Hard or Hot Foods
Hard foods, as well as hot and spicy foods, can cause discomfort while you are healing from oral surgery. Try to avoid them for at least a few days (you may need to avoid them for longer if you receive multiple implants and do not have enough natural teeth left to chew comfortably). A soft, mild diet is best during recovery from dental implant surgery.
Drinking through a Straw
Similar to smoking, drinking through a straw can interfere with the blood clots over your dental implants and impede your healing process. Straws should be avoided for at least three days.
Deviating from Your Oral Surgeon’s Instructions
Admittedly, some of your oral surgeon’s instructions might feel restrictive or inconvenient, but it is important to remember that they are designed to help you recover. And they are temporary. Hopefully, before you know it, you will once again be able to resume your normal routine.
Meet the Practice
Piney Point Dental Implant Center is proud to be the home of three board-certified oral surgeons. They have decades of combined experience, and they are always eager to put their knowledge to work for their patients. If you have questions about dental implant surgery or the recovery process, our team would be pleased to speak with you. Contact our Houston office at 713-597-7340.