Dental implants are in a class of their own when it comes to replacing missing teeth! These awesome, tiny titanium posts can completely revitalize your mouth and restore your smile to a pristine and healthy state. But despite their impressive 95% success rate, dental implants are still susceptible to failure—meaning that it’s very important to ensure that your implants aren’t compromised during your recovery period. Keep reading to learn more about five things you should absolutely avoid doing after dental implant surgery.
1. Don’t Smoke or Use Tobacco
After you’ve received dental implants, they will gradually fuse with your jawbone in a process called osseointegration. For this to happen, the bone must grow around the titanium part of your implants—and this process can be interrupted by smoking or using tobacco! These items drastically reduce your mouth’s healing capabilities, in addition to increasing the likelihood of oral cancer or other serious health problems. In order for your implant sites to heal properly and for your implants to bond with your jawbone, avoid smoking altogether.
2. Refrain from Excessively Rinsing Your Mouth
You might feel the urge to vigorously rinse your mouth throughout the rest of the day after receiving your implants, but this is a very bad idea. This action can disturb your implant sites and cause bleeding! When you need to clean your teeth, gently swish mouthwash around your mouth and then let it flow out into the sink, rather than spitting it out.
3. Avoid Intense Exercise and Get Plenty of Rest
Physical activity increases the body’s blood flow, which is fine under normal circumstances but something you want to avoid during your recovery period. To avoid the possibility of bleeding around your dental implants, you shouldn’t exercise for 2 – 3 days following your procedure to give your body the chance to recover. Also ensure that you’re getting enough rest—your body needs sleep to repair your cells and restore your energy levels, both of which contribute to healing.
4. Be Mindful of Hard and Spicy Foods
It’s recommended that you stick to a soft-food diet following your procedure—this gives your implant sites the best chance of uninterrupted healing. You should avoid hot and spicy foods, as they can affect your mouth’s healing process and create discomfort. Also avoid particularly hard or crunchy foods, and if you must chew, do so on the opposite side of your mouth from your implants.
5. Steer Clear of Drinking Straws
It might seem logical to use a drinking straw while adhering to a soft-food diet, but you should avoid using them during your recovery period. Drinking through a straw creates suction that can disturb and even dislodge the blood clots on your implant sites. This can lead to some pretty painful and messy situations, so avoid straws entirely!
Dental implants can completely change your life and restore your smile, but only if you give them the opportunity! Follow these tips to ensure that your implant sites are given the chance to heal properly.
About the Practice
Coco Dental proudly serves patients and families in the Dallas area under the leadership of Dr. Sujal Patel and his amazing team! Dr. Patel received his DDS from New York University and is a member of the American Dental Association and the Texas Dental Association. His practice offers a wide range of available services, including dental implants! If you have any questions for Dr. Patel, feel free to contact him online or by phone at (972) 629-9339.