What You Should Do for Dental Implant Success
Dec 03, 2021
The success of any dental procedure depends on various factors. While most of the work is on the strategy, expertise, and skill of your attending dentist at Monarch Dentistry, you also have some role to play. Preparing for dental procedures beforehand sets you up for heightened success of procedures. When undergoing intricate dental works like getting dental implants in Stoney Creek, it will be to your advantage to prepare in advance before visiting your dentist.
What Are Dental Implants?
They are oral devices used in dentistry to replace missing teeth. Usually, dental implants procedures are done for replacing a single tooth at a time. A dental implant features a small screw-like metal that must be erected in your jawbone to replace the lost teeth. The type of metal used for tooth implants is called titanium, praised for its bio-compatibility, allowing it to integrate properly with the natural bone tissue of your mouth.
The Process of Getting Implants
The implantation procedure involves surgery. Therefore, the initial step of your treatment will involve numbing and sedation. Local anesthesia numbs your mouth to make the treatment painless, while sedation calms your nerves to promote comfort and relaxation during your implantation surgery.
The dentist starts by cutting open your gum tissue. The small incision will expose the bone tissue underneath, which is the primary target of the entire surgery. Afterward, the dentist drills the jawbone, creating room for the titanium metal post that is then erected accordingly. After an abutment is placed over the implant, your dentist will sew the gum tissue to close up the wound while providing necessary support to the implant.
You will require a few months to heal the implant wound before your dentist can proceed with the crowning of the implant. Typically, a dental crown is sufficient for crowning an implant. However, in cases of multiple tooth replacement, the dentist may employ a dental bridge or dentures.
Preparing for Implantation Procedure
The best way to prepare for any dental treatment is through a dental exam. The checkups by a dental expert will ascertain that your mouth is in a great state for the performance of any dental works. With dental implant procedures, the dentist needs to check the health of your gums and jawbone. Some patients are disqualified from implantation surgeries if their gums or jawbone are unhealthy. Instead, you would require gum grafting or bone grafting surgery to first restore the health of your gums or jawbone before getting tooth implants. Aside from that, the following pointers can help your prepare better:
- Eat healthily – to ensure that your body gets all the necessary nutrients needed during and after your procedure. You will need to be in your best health to heal quickly from an implantation surgery.
- Free up your schedule – after your surgery, you will need some downtime to heal and recover. For the first two days, you should be resting at home. After that, the first week should only entail a light schedule, allowing your body ample time to heal and recover. However, understand that recovery from implantation surgeries can last up to three months. Although you may resume your work life, you may need to adjust several things in your lifestyle.
- Start taking antibiotics – they will help boost your immune system and reduce the chances of your body rejecting the dental implants as foreign objects. Some patients start taking immunosuppressant drugs before dental implant treatments to counter the work of the immune system after getting dental implants.
- Dress appropriately – loose clothing will allow you to be comfortable during your treatment.
- Eat early – if you will be under general anesthesia, you may be required to fast for up to 12 hours before your procedure. For other types of sedation, it may not be as strict as fasting for 12 hours. However, eating early will be important for avoiding an upset stomach during your surgery.
- Plan for soft meals – after your surgery, you may not be able to eat hard foods for a while. You need to prepare for changes in your diet, accounting doe soft foods like mashed potatoes, smoothies, yogurts, soups, to mention a few. As you heal, you will keep adjusting your meal plans.
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