Dealing With Short-Term Complications Of Dental Implants
Many things affect the success rates of dental implants; some of them are things you cannot control. For example, you cannot control the technique used by your dentist or the density of your jawbone. However, there are also things you can do to encourage your dental implant to heal, and they include:
Keeping Your Mouth Clean
Maintaining a high standard of oral hygiene is probably the greatest role you can play in helping your dental implant to heal. This because the damaged tissues around the implant site make it easy for bacteria to attack that part of your mouth, and a bacterial attack may weaken the implant's attachment or even affect the bone in which the implant is anchored. Here are a few tips on how to keep your mouth clean after an implant surgery:
- Brush and floss your teeth as usual; you just need to avoid the tender site for a few days after the surgery
- Use warm saline water to rinse your mouth every day for the first few weeks
- Don't smoke until the implant site heals, or better yet, forever
Not Biting Down On Hard Things
The artificial implant inserted into your jawbone need to remain in place, stationary, for as long as possible for it to bond well with your natural bone. The more you disturb the implant the longer your healing time will be. Biting down on hard objects, including food, is not advisable in the early days of the implant because it can weaken the implant. The behavior of using your teeth as a tool, for example, as a bottle opener, is even worse and should be avoided even with teeth that haven't received dental implant treatment.
Eating Well
Proper nutrition is always necessary for healing your body, and this includes oral injuries such as those occasioned by dental implant surgery. Ensure you eat well-balanced meals or take the necessary supplements if you can't get all the minerals and vitamins from your food. In particular, ensure you get the recommended dietary of vitamin B12, calcium and selenium since they are all important in oral tissue healing.
Your dentist will give you specific instructions on how to take care of your implants. For example, they may advise you on which oral hygiene products to use, when to come back for a checkup, and danger signs to watch out for. Ensure you follow these instructions to the letter if you want your implant to heal fast.