After your dental implant surgery, it is important that you follow post-op instructions from your care team. Those instructions will require you to do certain things while you avoid doing other things. What are some habits that might compromise your body’s healing process? This blog post lists several things that should be strictly off-limits during your recovery period.
Smoking
Smoking can be detrimental to your oral health. It can be particularly damaging after dental implant surgery. It may slow down your body’s healing process, reduce your ability to fight off infections, and irritate your sensitive surgical sites. In fact, smoking is associated with a greatly heightened risk of dental implant failure! While it would be best to quit smoking completely, you should at least avoid this harmful habit during the weeks before and after your procedure.
Vigorous Exercise
While exercise can be very beneficial under normal circumstances, it is important that you get adequate rest in the days after your dental implant surgery. Overexerting your body could cause extra bleeding and discomfort at your surgical sites. As you heal, you can gradually get back to your normal workout routine.
Eating Hard and Crunchy Foods
Your mouth is likely to be quite sore and tender during the first several days after your surgery. Crunchy and hard foods could worsen your discomfort. They might even interfere with your body’s ability to heal. It would be best to eat soft foods that require little to no chewing until you are mostly recovered.
Drinking Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages may disrupt the formation of blood clots at your surgical sites. Therefore, it is important that you avoid alcohol for at least 10 days or so after your procedure. Also, keep in mind that alcohol can interact dangerously with some types of medications, including popular painkillers.
Drinking through a Straw
After any type of oral surgery, it is wise to avoid the use of drinking straws. That is simply because the suction action could adversely affect the blood clots at your surgical sites. In turn, that could lead to painful complications and a slower overall recovery.
Rinsing Aggressively
Oral hygiene is always important, and your dental implant post-op period is no exception. However, it is important that you do not overdo it. If you use mouthwash, you should not swish it vigorously around your mouth. Instead, swirl it gently around your oral cavity. Otherwise, you might irritate your surgical sites. When you finish, let the liquid flow out of your mouth instead of spitting it out.
You may need to adjust some of your habits after dental implant surgery! Complying with your dentist’s post-op instructions can do much to help your body heal.
Meet the Practice
At Northborough Dental Associates, we are proud to be able to perform dental implant placement surgery in our comfortable, modern office. If you have any questions about this procedure or what to expect during the post-op period, we would be happy to speak with you during a personalized consultation. Get in touch with our friendly team at 508-571-0358.