Can You Speed Up The Healing Time After Getting Dental Implants?
Investing in dental implants to replace teeth can leave you both excited and stressed. On the one hand, you can now fill the gaps in your smile. On the other hand, you have to undergo months of healing before you can use your new dental implants. For many patients, the healing time, which is usually somewhere between 4-6 months, is a daunting prospect that can give them second thoughts.
Not everyone heals at the same pace. And, fortunately, if you'd like to use your new dental implants as quickly as possible, you can speed up the healing process.
By doing the following things during the healing period, you can help your dental implants heal more quickly.
Get lots of rest
Your dentist will tell you to avoid strenuous activities such as running and weight lifting after your dental implant surgery. But rest is important too. The more rest you get the faster your dental implants will heal over time. A research study found that volunteers that slept normally healed faster than volunteers who were sleep deprived.
Drink lots of water
Your mouth has a special medicinal aid that can help heal mouth wounds quickly—saliva. Saliva contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agents that can keep your healing implants from becoming infected as they heal. Saliva also helps the healing process.
To keep a healthy supply of saliva in your mouth, drink lots of water and avoid things like coffee and wine, which can dry your mouth out.
Avoid hard foods
Hard foods will not only be painful for your healing implants, but they can irritate the wounds and slow down the healing process. Stick to soft foods as your implants heal.
Eat foods high in nutrition
Stick to foods that are high in nutrition. Nutritious foods help to bolster your body's immune system. A strong immune system will keep your healing dental implants safe from infection. Infection-free dental implants will heal faster.
Avoid alcohol and cigarettes
Both alcohol and cigarettes impede your body's ability to heal itself. So if you want your implants to heal in the optimal time, then you'll have to go without alcohol and cigarettes until your dental implants have healed. In fact, this could be a good time to quit altogether.
Rinse with saltwater
From the second day after your surgery, rinse your mouth with saltwater several times a day. This will keep bacteria at bay and keep inflammation down.
Contact your dentist for more information about dental implants.