4 Tips for Preparing Your Gums for Your Dental Implant Procedure
Posted on: 18 July 2017
If you are planning on getting dental implants, you may wonder if there is anything you can do to increase the success of the procedure and help prevent any problems. If so, use the following four tips for preparing for your dental implant procedure.
Stay on Top of Your Oral Hygiene Routine
Before your surgery, you want your gums as clean as possible. Keeping them clean helps kill off bacteria that could cause infection. Even if you already brush and floss regularly, you should make sure you do so after you eat or drink anything.
Along with brushing and flossing your teeth, you may want to add rinsing your mouth with salt water. The salt is an effective cleanser that also keeps the pH in your mouth balanced, creating an atmosphere that bacteria cannot thrive in.
Before you brush, rinse with a quarter of a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of salt dissolved in it. If you do not care for the strong taste of salt, you could also add a couple of drops of peppermint oil. Not only does the oil improve the taste, but it is also an antibacterial that strengthens the rinse's ability to kill germs.
Avoid Drinking a Few Days Before the Procedure
If you enjoy having a beer or glass of wine after work, you should avoid drinking a few days before your procedure. Since alcohol is a diuretic, it dehydrates your body and leads to dry mouth.
When your mouth becomes too dry because your body cannot produce enough saliva, you lose this moisturizing substance that also cleans away germs. If you consume alcohol on a regular basis and constantly have a dry mouth, bacteria are allowed to flourish. Doing this before your implant procedure increases your risk of infection.
Reduce the Number of Cigarettes You Smoke
Another habit that could impede the success of your surgery is smoking cigarettes. When you smoke before your procedure, tar builds up on your gums and traps bacteria on the tissue. The chemicals also slow blood flow to your gums, decreasing the tissue's ability to handle the trauma of surgery.
Not only is smoking before your procedure a bad idea, but it could also lead to a failure of your dental implants if you smoke afterward. If you cannot quit smoking completely, at least try to cut your number of cigarettes by half while preparing for your implants and while the sites are healing.
Participate in Light Exercise
Another thing you may want to consider doing before your procedure is to participate in light exercise. When you exercise, the increase in your body's movement also increases the blood flow to your gums, carrying nutrients and oxygen to the tissue.
The increase in blood flow helps keep your gums healthy and nourished before the surgery. You should also continue this habit after your surgery since the blood also carries white cells that fight off infection and other cells to promote the healing of the surgical sites. This could decrease the amount of time it takes for you to recover from your procedure.
If you do not regularly exercise, you do not have to go full force and run a marathon. Simply walking around the block or performing five to ten minutes of stretching exercises can increase the blood flow to your gums.
Using the above tips can help increase the success of your dental implant surgery. If you have any further questions or concerns, discuss the procedure with a dentist at offices like Stone & Johnson Dental Group who can give you additional advice and suggestions specific to your oral health needs.
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