After Dental Implants: Essential Care Precautions

Dental implants are an excellent substitute for your natural teeth, but it is important to remember that you can't treat them exactly like your natural teeth in the very beginning. Your oral surgeon or dentist will give you a list of specific guidelines to follow when you leave their office. However, it can be helpful to be aware of the most important general aftercare precautions even ahead of your dental implant surgery so you can plan meals and snacks. Read on to learn about a few of the main care precautions you should take when you have new dental implants.

Food and Drink

When you eat and drink immediately after dental surgery, it is important that you avoid the area of the new implant as much as possible. The area will be swollen and tender for several days after surgery and it can be easily aggravated if you try to chew on the implant.

Your oral surgeon or dentist may recommend that you avoid eating at all for a specific period after surgery. If this is the case, you will usually be able to substitute other things for food, such as protein shakes.

The best foods and drinks for after dental implants can include:

• Cold drinks and food rather than hot drinks and food
• Soft foods like mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and yogurt
• Non-crunchy foods like cooked veggies

Medication

Your dentist may prescribe medication to help control the pain after dental implant surgery. If you have prescription pain medication, keep in mind that many such medications need to be taken with food. Strictly follow any guidelines that the dentist and the pharmacist mention for the medication, and take it on the schedule prescribed.

The pain may be manageable with only over the counter analgesics. Be sure to take this medication on a schedule. It is always best if you try to alleviate pain before it reaches its highest levels, and taking it on a schedule for the period immediately post surgery can help with that.

Your dentist or oral surgeon may also prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes the area of the surgery can be vulnerable to infection, and antibiotics prevent that infection from developing. If you have antibiotics, begin taking them immediately after the implant surgery and continue taking them daily until they are gone.

During the early days, your dental implant may still be vulnerable to movement or shifting, even though it is firmly supported by metal framework. Over time, your implant will meld with your mouth perfectly, so that you'll even forget it's there at times. Until then, just exercise caution using the tips described above, and get advice from your dental care provider to be sure you care for your new implants in the best possible way! For more information, contact a professional such as Thomas H. Seal DDS.