Planning Ahead For Your New Dental Implant

What to do and to consider in advance if you are having a dental implant placed at our Canterbury practice.

If you’ve worn a partial denture for a while or have been living with a gap in your teeth, you may be wondering whether a dental implant might be the right solution for you? As our blog readers will know, dental implants offer a great way of replacing a missing tooth, largely because they replace not only the crown section of the tooth, but the root also. It is this factor that gives them the strength and stability that enables people to just carry on with their lives and not have to worry about the replacement tooth being able to cope with certain foods and without the fear of it becoming loose while talking.

If this is you, or you are wondering if it should be, we thought that we would offer some advice on the steps you can take to make your implant journey as straightforward and positive as possible. Here are some tips from the team at Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic.

Book a consultation

Without this step, it isn’t possible to place an implant. Discussions will need to take place as well as x-rays and scans being taken to check on the quantity and quality of bone needed to successfully place your implant. We will also need to check your general oral health and treat any problems such as gum disease before the treatment starts, as this can threaten its survival. Once you are ready to have your new implant placed, there are a few things that you can do to help you have a successful procedure.

Stop smoking and moderate alcohol consumption

As you will have just read, gum disease is a serious threat to a dental implant (and natural teeth for that matter). This especially applies to the advanced stage, ‘periodontitis’, as this affects not just the gums but the bone into which the implant will be placed. Quitting smoking at least for a few months either side of your treatment is especially important, though we would encourage you not to start again as the threat won’t go away entirely even once the implant is established.

Drinking alcohol can have a similar effect if you drink a lot or drink regularly. The occasional pint of beer or glass of wine shouldn’t be a problem but please take care to keep things in moderation.

Get some exercise

There is no need to join a gym or pound the early morning frosty streets in order to become fitter. Walking a bit more and taking the steps instead of elevators are good ways of making your heart work a little harder. When it does so, it will pump blood and oxygen around the body more efficiently. This even includes in the gums and area of the treatment. Not only will this help to keep gum disease at bay but will also help in the recovery process and make the healing time a little quicker.

Stock up your store cupboard

One thing that you should bear in mind is that once the individual dental implant has been placed, there is a period of time needed to allow it to fuse securely with the bone into which it was placed. During this time it is important that you put no strain on the new implant. Part of this means modifying your diet for a while. Initially, this means eating only liquidised foods. Soon afterwards you will be able to move onto soft foods such as mashed potatoes, gradually increasing the hardness of foods that you eat. This might mean a bit of a rethink about what you eat for a while and now would be a good opportunity to plan ahead and stock up your cupboards and freezer with foods that will be gentle on your new implant.

Plan your transportation and rest

When you have had your implant placed at our Canterbury dental clinic, it is advisable that you don’t drive yourself home. This is especially the case if you have opted for IV sedation to help you through the procedure. Public transport is an option but we recommend that you ask a friend to take you home and to make sure that you get home safely.

Rest is also recommended for a few days after the treatment and there may be a little bruising or swelling around the area, so why not use this as an excuse to put your feet up for a few days to allow the treatment area to start to heal. Taking a short break from work is recommended though the time should be for rest and not to get those odd jobs done. Under no circumstances should you do physical exercise and especially not running etc where the pounding of feet on the road may jar the body and potentially affect the implant.

Maybe use the time before your treatment to buy a book or film that you have been planning to enjoy for a while, or simply find a nice TV series to catch up on. If you make sure to rest for a few days, this will be beneficial to your implant and you will feel better for it too.

Naturally, much of this will be discussed during your consultation with the implant dentist but we hope that this has given you some idea of recommended preparations prior to receiving the treatment.

If you would like more information about teeth implants or would like to book a consultation with us, please call Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic today on 01227 463529.