Your teeth play an important role in your life. First, they help you to chew and digest food items. Secondly, they enhance your speech and clarity when talking to other people. And finally, teeth promote the shape of your face. For that reason, no person will want to lose any of their teeth.
Despite the many benefits of having teeth, some instances or scenarios may cause you to lose one or all of them. These include gum disease, cavities, physical injury, and other diseases like arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, etc. While that’s the case, all isn’t lost. You can consider dental implants to improve your oral health, speech, and appearance.
If you’ve decided to get an implant procedure to fill in those missing teeth, this article is for you. Learn what the procedure means and the preparations you need to make before, during, and after the surgery.
Overview Of Dental Implant Procedure
A dental implant is a type of surgery done to fill in spaces and replace problematic tooth roots with metal and damaged teeth with artificial, man-made ones. The implanted teeth will match your natural teeth and prevent future dental complications.
You might think that dental implant procedures are the latest medical inventions. However, that’s not the case. It has been practiced for several decades. Dental implants were first invented in the early 1950s in Sweden. Later, they were introduced to other parts of Europe.
Today, dental implants are used worldwide to treat severely damaged teeth that can only be handled through replacements.
Preparing For Dental Implant Procedure
As noted earlier, a dental implant is the best solution to a lost or severely decayed tooth. It can help fill the gap left by the lost tooth. However, you must ensure you’re preparing well for the procedure.
Here are some essential tips to keep in mind to get back to your usual routine in no time.
- Find The Right Dental Clinic
The first thing you should do to prepare for a dental implant procedure is identify a dental clinic. Your choice will determine if your dental condition will get better or not. Thus, choose a suitable and reliable one to ensure that they can meet all your dental needs.
You need to consider many factors to find the right clinic for your dental implant procedure. For instance, it’d be a good idea to find an experienced dental health facility. Clinics who have the expertise in performing this type of dental treatment will most likely have the proper tools and equipment for the entire procedure.
Another essential factor to consider when finding a dental hospital is the doctors’ qualifications. Any dental facility you select must have dental professionals who have the skills, training, and experience to perform this procedure. This way, you are assured that they know what they are doing and do not put you at risk. For instance, if you check the website of The Village Dental Center or any other dental site, you can find the background information of each of their dentists. Reading through their bio and credentials is also a great way to assess if their philosophy on treatment plans will match yours.
- Organize Your Finances
Another essential step you need to take to prepare for a dental implant is to organize your finances. You’ll need money to settle your medical bills, buy medicines, pay for transport expenses, and other related costs. You might experience many challenges if you suddenly realize that you don’t have enough money to handle your dental implant procedure.
One of the best ways to finance your bill and related charges is to use your personal savings. If that isn’t enough, you can apply for medical loans, find financial aid from relatives and friends, or get support from charitable organizations within your locality.
If you have insurance, you can also check with your insurance provider if your plan can cover such a dental treatment procedure so you won’t have to shell out cash. Conversely, check with your chosen clinic if they accept your dental insurance provider.
- Purchase Plenty Of Soft Foods
Like any other type of surgery, a dental implant procedure may leave you feeling tired after a few hours. For that reason, you might not be in a position to go to the market to buy food or cook. However, you’ll need to eat to get energy and speed up your recovery. That’s why you need to purchase food items in advance.
Stock up on food or ingredients that can turn very soft once cooked since you may not be able to chew hard for a few days after the operation. And even if you can manage to do so, your dentist will most likely advise you to temporarily avoid it as it may cause damage and trigger pain in the affected area. That may also prolong your healing and recovery process.
Purchasing and storing enough food ensures you’re not skipping any meals before taking your oral medications.
- Get Enough Sleep The Day Before The Procedure
One of the best strategies to ensure you go through a smooth dental implant procedure is to get enough rest and sleep. Getting enough sleep the night before helps ease stress, tension, fear, and worries. This helps minimize stress to enhance your recovery process.
Sleeping the night before an appointment may not be as simple as you think. This is especially true if you are one of those who get pretty anxious when dealing with medical and dental treatments. Fortunately, you could use easy yet effective measures to improve your sleep, such as doing simple bedtime exercises and listening to guided meditation.
- Avoid Smoking Before And After A Dental Implant Procedure
This might be the right time to quit smoking if you’ve tried it for many years without success. Why? The dental implant procedure will require you to avoid smoking for about 24 hours before and after the surgery.
Aside from affecting your general health, smoking may also accelerate the bleeding during the procedure. Furthermore, it can lead to a dry tooth socket, a painful complication after tooth extraction. This happens because nicotine constricts the blood vessels, thus preventing blood clots from forming at the extraction site. Blood clotting is important because it protects the bone and nerves underneath. Leaving them exposed to food particles and fluids may cause severe pain and be at risk of infection.
For those reasons, you may consider avoiding smoking for several hours before and after dental implant surgery.
- Wear Comfortable Clothing During The Procedure
You shouldn’t enter the surgical room with any type of clothing. Like tight jeans and suits, some of them might not be suitable. The idea here is to wear clothing items to promote your comfort during the dental implant.
If you don’t know what type of clothes you should wear, confirm with your dentist before going to the clinic. Having comfortable clothing makes the procedure easier. For the ladies, you may also want to skip the make-up and expensive jewelry.
- Take Antibiotics Before And After The Surgery
Another thing you need to do to prepare for a dental implant procedure is to take antibiotics. Like any other type of surgery, a dental implant exposes the internal parts of your body to bacteria and other infections. Bacterial infection in the afflicted area of your mouth may cause delays in recovery. Furthermore, if left untreated, it might lead to other health complications.
Your dentist will provide you with a prescription based on your needs. Thus, ensure that you orally take them according to instructions. And if you have other health issues, seek advice from your doctor if you can safely drink the antibiotics together with other medicines.
- Secure A Ride Home
It’s no doubt that you might not be able to take yourself home after a dental implant procedure. This is especially true if the doctor puts you under sedation. The effects of the anesthesia usually last between two to five hours, so driving your vehicle may not be a safe option.
For that reason, you may want to find a person who will accompany you back home. This can be your friend or relative. If you can’t find one, book a taxi in advance.
- Arrange For Post-Surgery Care
Do you have small children to take care of or other essential tasks that need your attention daily? If yes, you may want to consider arranging post-dental care.
After the surgery, you may experience fatigue, and once the anesthesia wears off, you can expect some feeling of pain. Your dentist may also advise you to avoid doing strenuous activities.
Thus, having someone to help you around for a couple of days will give you enough time to sleep and rest. Sleeping for extended hours may also boost your immune system. It’s also one of the best strategies to heal damaged tissues.
- Save Your Doctor’s Contact Details
A dental implant helps promote oral health. However, sometimes it can lead to other complications like injury to the surrounding structure, nerve damage, sinus problems, etc.
When that happens, you need to get in touch with your dentist as soon as possible. That’s why you need to have your doctor’s contact details. You can reach out to them when you experience any abnormal symptoms after the dental implant procedure. The doctor will be able to advise you on the best course of action to take.
Takeaway
A dental implant is perhaps one of the most effective ways to deal with a lost or decayed tooth. However, this dental treatment option has its downtime. Thus, before sitting on the dental chair, ensure that ample preparations are made before, during, and after the surgery. This way, you can recover faster. Consider these tips so you can go back to your usual routine in no time.
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