tips for adjusting to dentures

Dental implants take a very long time to heal once implanted into your jawbone. During the 3-6 month healing phase, patients need to be very careful not to disturb their healing oral tissues. And although not as bad as smoking, drinking alcohol can negatively affect healing dental implants.

But does this mean you should stop drinking alcohol altogether? Not necessarily.

Avoid Alcohol for the First 72 Hours

The first 72 hours are crucial to the success of your dental implant's healing. During this time, avoid alcohol completely. Drinking alcohol during the first 72 hours after dental implant placement can cause the bone around your dental implants to die. And even a small amount of alcohol could cause the newly formed blood clots in the wounds to dislodge. This can be very painful.

Avoid Binge Drinking Completely

Heavy alcohol consumption has a negative impact on the immune system. And this is very important while your dental implants are healing. Your body needs a strong immune system to regenerate blood cells, bone cells, and healthy skin tissue to heal the wounds around your dental implants.

Binge drinking weakens your immune system and thus causes your dental implants to take longer to heal. If you do choose to drink while your implants heal, drink as little as possible.

Stay Hydrated While Drinking Alcohol

Alcohol dehydrates your body. This is especially true if you often go to the toilet while drinking alcohol. The more dehydrated your body is, the less saliva your mouth produces. Saliva not only helps to promote wound healing, but it also acts as an antiseptic to keep harmful bacteria from infecting wounds.

While drinking alcohol, ensure that you stay hydrated by keeping some water with you at all times. If your mouth feels dry, be sure to drink some water. This will ensure you have plenty of saliva in your mouth.

Consult With Your Dentist Before Drinking Heavily

If you have an upcoming engagement and want to drink a moderate to a large amount of alcohol, see your dentist or periodontist first. Only they can tell you if your healing has progressed sufficiently for you to be able to enjoy a little more alcohol without interfering with your wound healing.

Alcohol and dental implants can coexist once your dental implants have healed sufficiently. But until your implants have healed fully, follow the above advice. Otherwise, your dental implants could take longer than normal to heal. And you could even lose a dental implant if you binge drink too often.

To learn more information about dental implants, reach out to a professional near you.