Congratulations on choosing dental implants. We hope they’ll serve you well and keep you smiling for a lifetime.
Now that you’ve invested in dental implants, it’s your responsibility to make them last. The best way to maintain your dental implants is to maintain good oral health and treat them with care. After your dental implant surgery, a change of diet is recommended during recovery. Your jaw and mouth may feel fatigued, and you may experience minimal pain after the procedure. Give your jaw a rest by eating a diet of soft healthy foods. We’ve put together a few guidelines to help our patients heal more quickly. This whole food, plant-based diet is highly recommended for patients who wish to improve their overall health and increase the speed of healing.
Even after your implants have healed, it’s still very important for patients to eat carefully and to treat their new teeth gently. GETAWAY DENTAL has given you a beautiful new smile. How long it lasts is up to you! Take good care of your dental implants by following the post-surgery guidelines below.
DAYS 1-2
On the day of your surgery:
Drink plenty of pure cold water. Do not excessively flush (swish) the surgical areas so as not to disturb clot formation and prevent excessive bleeding. Gently rinse your mouth with salt water (1tsp dissolved in 1 cup of room temperature water). In addition, you may rinse twice daily with prescription grade hyaluronic acid, since it promotes proper and faster gums healing.
Day after surgery:
Drink 3-5 times a day fruit juices (diluted: 1 part juice + 4 parts mountain spring water), cold or at room temperature, blended with one of the commercially available complete meal organic fruit and veggie powders. Those need to be purchased before arriving to Costa Rica since they are hard to buy down there and are somewhat pricey. Good brands are: All in One Organic Meal by Orgain; Raw Organic Meal by Garden of Life; Vega All in One. These can be purchased via the internet, Whole Foods stores or other health food stores.
DAYS 2-6
Days 2-6:
Continue the diet as recommended. In addition, try to eat soft and mashed fruit and vegetables – such as bananas, yellow plantains, soft avocados, watermelon, or other mashed melons and soft fruits. You can also opt for vegetables like cooked, mashed or puréed beans (including string beans), peas and lentils with rice; and plenty of steamed or sautéed leafy green vegetables: spinach, kale or various chards as many times a day as desired.
Fruit smoothies such as: orange juice, banana or yellow soft plantain, mango and few leaves of romaine lettuce are also okay. Smoothies made with soft berries are not advisable because they contain small seeds that can be trapped in the postoperative gum cervices and can interfere with proper gums healing process.
DAY 7
7 days after surgery:
You can resume a normal diet. It is always a good idea not to bite in the areas affected by the surgery. You should also maintain proper oral hygiene by brushing and flossing unaffected teeth.
If staying at a hotel or B&B, check to see if a blender is available. If not, it is a good idea to bring one with you. A small but powerful travel blender, about 600 ml (20 oz.) like a NutriBullet® is perfect for mixing healthy meals.
Please make sure to use only certified organic produce as well as bottled water. People suffering from food allergies should follow their health professional’s recommendations.