Written By Dixie Somers / Reviewed By Ray Spotts
Dental care is important for your overall health. When you have dental work done, it can be painful, but there are steps you can take to speed up the recovery process. Here are some ways to recover faster after a dental procedure.
Take Care of Your Oral Hygiene
It's important to keep your teeth clean before, during, and after dental procedures. One way to do this is by brushing your teeth with toothpaste and water every day. Your dentist may also recommend using an antibacterial mouthwash after brushing. Keep in mind it can be irritating, so you might need to rinse your mouth out with water afterward.
If you have a dental procedure done on a tooth or teeth that are sore from decay or disease, the dentist may prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection in the tooth. This will help prevent an infection from spreading to other areas of your body.
Eat Healthy Foods
Eating healthy foods is important for your health in general, and it's just as important when you have dental work done. Eating healthy foods will help your recovery process because you are giving your body the right nutrients. Your recovery will be much smoother if you are giving yourself the right fuel to keep up energy levels.
Eating healthy foods can also reduce inflammation around the area that was worked on. By reducing inflammation, it can make recovering after a dental procedure much easier.
Drink Water
Water is essential for speeding up the healing process. When you drink water, it helps flush out the germs caused by the dental procedure. Drinking water also helps with swelling and soreness.
This can be especially important if your procedure involves dental implants. Getting the swelling and soreness to decrease plays a huge role in getting your implants to fit properly and feel good in your mouth.
You should be drinking at least enough to keep your mouth from drying out. If regularly drinking water is an issue for you, try to drink eight to 10 ounces every hour. Drink more than that if your mouth is intensely dry.
The best way to drink water during recovery is in sips. If you use a straw, you may dislodge any dressings or blood clots that are meant to protect the wound.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Getting a good night's sleep is a crucial part of recovering from a dental procedure. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Your body needs plenty of time to rest after undergoing any kind of dental procedure. You may feel tired and sore, but you should still try to get the proper amount of sleep for your body to heal.
You can also take steps to make sure that you're getting enough sleep. Try these tips:
- Eliminate caffeine or other stimulants before bedtime
- Make your bedroom more comfortable by adding soft pillows and blankets.
- Avoid watching TV in bed.
- Take any prescribed painkillers or OTV medications necessary to ease pain.
Take medications as prescribed by your dentist
Your dentist will prescribe any medications you need to take after a dental procedure. In some cases, you may be given antibiotics as a preventative measure.
In the case of tooth extractions or other dental surgery, you may be given pain relief medication before and after the procedure. If you have been prescribed antibiotics, make sure to take them as directed.
If your dentist prescribed pain relievers, they should be taken as directed. Ask your dentist for a list of dosages and time frames in order to avoid taking too many or too few pills.
Recovering from dental procedures can feel painful and take a long time if you're not careful. But with proper care, most people only need to endure some minor discomfort for a short amount of time before they recover fully.
The quicker your recovery, the less chance you'll have for complications like infection or swelling that could make it harder to enjoy good oral health in the future.
Subscribe to our Trusted Health Club newsletter for more information about natural living tips, natural health, oral health and skincare. If you are looking for more health resources make sure to check out the Trusted Health Resources list.
Written By:
Dixie Somers is a freelance writer who loves to write for business, health, and women’s interests. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters.
Reviewed By:
Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.