Good on you for receiving your first dental implant! This awesome treatment has plenty of benefits, from preventing bone loss to replacing your natural tooth’s aesthetic. But any treatment that comes with fabulous benefits such as these also comes with a period of downtime.

You shouldn’t expect to leave the clinic and go rushing back to work then footy training then the pub - you need to rest! It’s important to allow your body to return to full capacity and definitely allow your new treatment to find its place in your oral composition.

With this in mind, here are five imperative tips to post-dental implant recovery:

• Rest up!

The best dental implants Chatswood has still require you, the patient, to rest up a little after your treatment. And, hey, it’s not every week we get the opportunity to tell our manager, “look, I’ve had some treatment, I need to rest for a day or two”.

So, kick back, relax, take some time to read, watch your favourite series, stare out the window in a haze of meditative bliss. This time is yours as you need to allow your body to return to its normal functionality whilst allowing the new solution to find its place.

And, of course, it’s up to you to know when you can get back to it. If you feel fine after a day then, by all means, stride back into the office like nothing ever happened. But, if you still feel a little funky, get back on that couch - you’ve earned it.

• Apply ice to the treatment area

A more complex procedure is likely to cause a little more swelling than if it was a nothing thing. As such, you will need to apply an ice pack to the swelling region for 10 minutes on and with a 10 minute break in between applications.

Yes, we know this sucks, but hey, it’s all about the future benefits that are plentiful - applying an annoying ice pack for a few minutes here and there will go a long way to helping you get back in the game ASAP.

• Be gentle with your oral care routine

Naturally, we don’t advise that you go hard on brushing the treated area within the day of your treatment. But we recommend that you get back to your oral care routine not too long after the procedure. Why? Because you don’t want to hurt the sensitive area whilst it’s still healing, but you should also take care to gently brush your teeth so as to maintain a high level of oral hygiene in this period.

• Avoid the tough foods

This is a big one. Seriously, you don’t want to go biting down on any hard or unpleasant foods. Hard candy, nuts and popcorn are big no-nos, so do everything to avoid them even when you are kicking back on the couch watching a new release on Netflix. Healthy foods like smoothies, yoghourts and soups are the go, and you can even enjoy some naughtier ones like ice cream just to cheer you up in this lay about time!

• Get the water in

Staying hydrated is essential to any form of dental recovery. So, do remember to keep a full bottle of water at your bed (or couch) side throughout this period of recovery. It helps with oral hygiene as well as helping to flush any nasty toxins out of the body. Staying hydrated will fasten the recovery process, so be sure to drink plenty of water and before you know it you’ll be back on your feet!