Healthy Diet After Dental Implants Surgery | ADC Implant Dentistry

Healthy Diet After Dental Implants Surgery

Medically Reviewed by Dr Rosy Dhawan, MDS

For success of the Dental Implant Surgery, your jaw bone needs to build around it and form a bony union. A healthy, well-balanced diet and rich in key nutrients can help speed up the healing of bone around Dental Implants, alternatively it also governs the time frame after which your dentist decides to functionally load these Dental Implants.
You don't need to take supplements unless your doctor recommends it. They don't always work well. It's much better to get the nutrition your body needs from your meals and diet, not from a medication.

Protein

Just like your other bones of the body, your jaw bone has about half its structure made up of Proteins. When you have undergone a Dental Implant Surgery, your body needs proteins to build new bone around the implants for it to accept the loads of a functional tooth. Proteins also helps your body in Calcium absorption and use of calcium, along with other key nutrient for healthy teeth and jaw bones.

Good sources: Meat, fish, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds, beans, soy products, and fortified cereals.


Calcium

Calcium is a vital mineral that helps you build strong teeth and bones, and is key important mineral for health of new bone formed around the Dental Implants. So foods and drinks rich in calcium can help your Dental Implants heal. Adults should get between 1,000 and 1,200 milligrams of calcium each day. Your doctor will prescribe you additional calcium supplements along with its dosage and special instructions if any. 

Good sources: Milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, broccoli, turnip or collard greens, kale, bok choy, soy, beans, canned tuna or salmon with bones, almond milk, and fortified cereals or juice.


Vitamin D

Vitamin D should be a part of your diet to help your Dental implants heal. It helps absorption of Calcium through blood and important for body calcium metabolism. Vit D speeds up the mineralization of your woven bone around Dental Implants resulting into a hard bony union between the implants and your jaw bone.

You get some vitamin D from the sunlight, absorbed directly through your skin, so it is highly advisable to spend some amount of time outdoors in broad sunlight each day preferably during rising sun hours for at-least 15 to 30 minutes.

Naturally Vitamin D is found in only a few foods like egg yolks and fatty fish. In Canned foods manufacturers add it as supplements, like milk or orange juice. An Adults should get at least 600 IU of vitamin D every day, and if you are above 70 years of age, you should get at least 800 IU.

Good sources: Swordfish, salmon, cod liver oil, sardines, liver, fortified milk or yogurt, egg yolks, and fortified orange juice.


Vitamin C

Collagen is a protein that acts as an important building block for bone around Dental Implants. Vitamin C helps your body make collagen, which helps your implants heal. You can get it from many tasty, fresh fruits and veggies. Heating or ageing of fruits and vegetables compromises the Vitamin C content, so go for fresh or frozen.

Good sources: Citrus fruits like oranges, kiwi fruit, berries, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and green vegetables.


Iron

If you are suffering from iron-deficiency anemia - then you don't have enough healthy red blood cells - which means that you may heal more slowly after a Dental Implants surgery. Iron helps your body make collagen to rebuild bone around implant. It also plays a part in getting oxygen into your jaw bones to help them heal.

Good sources: Red meat, dark-meat chicken or turkey, oily fish, eggs, dried fruits, leafy green veggies, whole-grain breads, and fortified cereals.


Potassium

Get enough of this mineral in your diet, and you won't lose as much calcium when you pee. There are lots of fresh fruits rich in potassium.

Good sources: Bananas, orange juice, potatoes, nuts, seeds, fish, meat, and milk.

What Not to Eat

It's a good idea to cut back on or skip these:

Alcohol:

While you don't have to cut out alcoholic drinks, these beverages slow down bone healing around implants. You won't build new bone as fast to fix the teeth. A bit too much alcohol can also make you unsteady on your feet, which can make you more likely to fall and risk an injury.

Salt:

Too much of this in your diet can make you lose more calcium in your urine. Salt can be in some foods or drinks that don't taste salty, so check labels and aim for about 1 teaspoon, or 6 grams, a day.


Coffee: 

Lots of caffeine -- more than four cups of strong coffee a day -- can slow down bone healing a little. It might make you pee more, and that could mean you lose more calcium through your urine. A moderate amount of coffee or tea should be fine.
References:

·       Cashman KD. Diet, nutrition, and bone health. The Journal of nutrition. 2007 Nov 1;137(11):2507S-12S. [Cited 30 June 2019]. Available from:https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/137/11/2507S/4664497
·       Elmali N, Ertem K, Ozen S, Inan M, Baysal T, Güner G, Bora A. Fracture healing and bone mass in rats fed on liquid diet containing ethanol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2002 Apr;26(4):509-13. [Cited 30 June 2019]. Available from:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2002.tb02568.x
·       Copp DH, Greenberg DM. Studies on bone fracture healing: I. Effect of vitamins A and D. The Journal of Nutrition. 1945 Apr 1;29(4):261-7. [Cited 30 June 2019]. Available from:https://academic.oup.com/jn/article-abstract/29/4/261/4725137


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